


Tuesday

by DreamersOfDreams



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Belligerent Sexual Tension, Canon-Typical Violence, Drunken Shenanigans, Feels, Fluff and Smut, I Like My Avatar to Party, Light Angst, Medicinal and Recreational Marijuana Use, Multi, Multiple Universes Colliding, Original Character(s), POV Alternating, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance, Romantic Friendship, Shameless Smut, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Sparring, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2018-12-15 13:01:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 57
Words: 152,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11806512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamersOfDreams/pseuds/DreamersOfDreams
Summary: Set 3 years after the end of Book 4.  Korra and Asami meet a shy, grieving woman in the Spirit World.  Why are they so drawn to her, and her them?  Is it fate their paths have crossed?





	1. Tuesday

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic... ever. I'm sure plenty will hate it, but maybe a few will love it. I'm 300 pages in so far, but posting just a little for now to test the waters. Thanks to everyone who gives it a shot.  
> Also, I do not own any of the lyrics listed in these works... unfortunately. Once I've posted the full story, I will add a full list of songs and artists.

Neither Korra nor Asami could forget how amazing the Spirit World was.

Oh, they’d been several times in the last three years, but the nature of the place always left them speechless, and for a different reason every time.

This time was no exception, especially since this trip was their honeymoon.

Three years and thirteen days ago, they walked into this utopia hand in hand, literally and figuratively facing what they were to each other for the first time. Thirteen days ago they faced each other again and exchanged vows in front of their family. Blood or no blood, the two young women knew the people in their lives held more titles than mere friendships to them. Blood or no blood, they were family.

The newlyweds walked hand in hand once again through this majestic home away from home. Sometimes they stopped to kiss, sometimes they ran into company. Sometimes Korra would get this look in her eyes that would prompt Asami to still briefly before she jumped into the Avatar’s sturdy arms and locked her lips with her wife’s. Sometimes they just walked, holding hands, talking like the old friends they were, with no particular destination but forward.

“Meelo was so incredibly handsome, wasn’t he?” Asami turned her head towards Korra in conversation.

“Aang Junior! He cleaned up so nicely! Not only were we proud of him, but did you see the look on Tenzin’s face?” Korra replied.

Asami’s heart held an emotional beat. At their wedding, Meelo was so handsome and mature and still managed to be… well, himself. The two young women’s eyes sparkled as they looked at each other and burst into a fit of giggles as they knew how hard it had to have been for the young man to tame himself, and also because they knew it would only be on special occasions they would ever see it.

As their chuckles died down, it grew quiet except for the gentle whisper of the Spirit world’s multi-colored foliage in the breeze and the sound of their feet moseying. Korra squeezed Asami’s hand, both women mentally reliving what was mutually the happiest day of their lives.

“All that planning, all the hassle, all the rushing- totally worth it,” Asami said out loud.

“You handled it like the professional you are, Babe. I would have been a wreck had you given me any more responsibilities than you did. Even then, I needed Mom’s help so much!” Korra admitted.

Asami’s heartstrings tugged at the mention of Korra’s mother. She knew that no one could ever take the place of her mother, but Senna was adamant to make sure Asami never felt like she didn’t have a mother. She and Pema both treated her like a daughter, and she soaked up every wonderful moment she spent with them.

She looked over at her wife and gently squeezed her hand. “Korra,” Asami shared, “You’ve given me so much. You’ve not just given me you and an amazing romance and relationship, but you’ve shared your family and the world with me. I am insanely lucky to have you.”

Korra smiled, her eyes a little shy from the compliment. “You know, technically, had you not hit Mako with your motor bike, who knows how Team Avatar would have turned out! I’m still so glad you hit him.” The two elated lovers swallowed their laughter at Korra’s comment… at least for a few seconds anyway.

* * *

 

The next morning, it was all Korra could do not to glue her arms around her wife.

“We’re staying here.”

“Korra.”

“Forever. I’m never letting you go.”

Asami grinned against the soft, light brown skin of her wife’s neck, and she grinned even wider when she realized yet again that Korra was, in fact, FINALLY her wife. “Believe me, I could stay here with you forever too, but you and I both know we have somewhere to be tonight.”

“Yes. In each other’s arms,” Korra whispered, as she dotted Asami’s forehead with tender kisses.

“Baby, you are making this so hard on me.”

Korra had Asami under her within a manner of seconds, one strong arm on either side of her beaming wife, the tips of her dark chocolate locks threatening to tickle Asami’s cheeks.

“That’s what he said!” Korra cackled to herself.

Asami laughed heartily. “Ewwww! Korrraaaa! You’re such a pervert.”

Korra grinned down ecstatically at her wife, a multitude of loving emotions coursing through her. She waggled her eyebrows and giggled. “Would you have me any other way?” she asked rhetorically before silencing her wife’s laughter with her lips. Asami wrapped her arms around her wife and pulled her down against her.

Korra moved her support from her hands to her elbows and deepened the kiss. Although it was barely audible, Korra heard the gasps leave her wife’s lips in between kisses, and it sent her nerve endings into a frenzy. Against Asami’s lips, Korra mumbled, “Seriously. We’re not leaving. No more grown-upping, well, except for this kind-“ Korra giggled-“I want to be able to have you whenever I please.”

Asami pulled the slightest bit away just to be able to focus on her wife’s intense blue eyes. She could never get over how much they looked just like the ocean, and honestly she hoped she never would. She leaned in and kissed Korra briefly, but sweetly. “We’re too high demand to disappear. I know that, you know that, everyone else knows that… and I know you like hearing it.”

Korra flopped her full weight onto Asami. Asami theatrically grunted.

“If you can push me off, we can get moving.”

Moving quickly to ensure Korra couldn’t register what was happening, Asami wrapped her arms around her wife’s arms and midsection and wrapped her left leg around Korra’s right leg at the knee. She pushed off the ground behind her with her right foot until she’d successfully straddled Korra.

“No fair. You know naked wrestling distracts me, and therefore I am completely defenseless and unable to fight back,” Korra breathed, her voice shaken.

Asami checked her watch. She slid her body slowly down her wife’s until they were eye level with one another. Asami’s midnight curls became a curtain around Korra’s face and she looked up in awe at the beauty above her. The bender grinned from ear to ear when her wife’s angelic voice said, “It was your idea, but no matter.” Asami moved her lips to the Avatar’s ear, kissing along the way. “We have the next hour to be as distracted as we wish.”

* * *

 

The tent was folded and packed, the fire was out and covered, and the honeymoon was just about over.

The vacation part of it, anyway.

Asami and Korra, jubilant and content after their tender and playful morning together, pleasantly babbled with each other while they went about making sure they left no trace behind them. When seeing that their campsite was as pristine as it was when they arrived, they latched hands and started heading for the Republic City spirit portal. It could be seen in the distance, not far past a number of hills. Familiar bright purple flowers had started to dot the landscape and could be seen condensing closer towards the portal.

The two women continued their chatter while walking, breathing in the air and soaking up the surroundings with their eyes. They commented on their mutual realization… and infatuation… of the heightened senses that were a gift of the Spirit World and of their reluctance to return home, even though they were excited for the evening’s events.

“…Mako gave us that bottle of firewhiskey. We should enjoy some during the party tonight. And we received those beautifully engraved flasks from Lin.” Korra speculated. The flasks were unreal. Korra and Asami didn’t drink much, but it was a pastime they did enjoy, especially around and about with their chosen family. Lin Beifong being a part of that family, and the member of said family that pulled out a flask of her own off the clock, knew the young women would enjoy the gifts. The most touching part of them, the recipients agreed, was that the flasks were made of pure platinum. Lin had designed them with her own two hands through strength and time as platinum just would not bend. Lin stained Asami’s flask to copper and carved three overlapping gears in varying sizes in the bottom left hand corner then used heat to warp the metal and make the flask look almost iridescent. She added a few small golden accents, and on the opposite side of the flask on the bottom center was the spot that bore her engraved name. Korra’s was platinum in its original state, buffed and shined and carved with a symbol for each of the bendable elements, all in a circle. Lin had stained the metal under each symbol a different color respective to its element, the water blue, the earth green and so on. Gracefully engraved into the bottom right hand corner of the flask was the name Korra Sato. The bottom of both flasks sported their wedding date and the message, “Congratulations, you two. –Lin”. She never was much one for words.

“I’m in!” Asami answered. “You know I like to mix it up sometimes,” she pulled Korra’s hand horizontally behind her back in order to pull her Avatar closer. Korra naturally grabbed her waist as Asami put her arms around her shorter wife’s shoulders as they continued to walk in unison. Korra began to open her mouth to say something when she stopped mid stride and slightly tilted her head to one side. She closed her mouth then opened it again.

“Do you hear that?”

Asami closed her eyes and strained to hear what her wife heard. It took a second, but then…

The two women turned to look at each other with mouths agape as they listened to the most enchanting voice either of them had ever heard. Along with the voice was a masterfully plucked melody, beautiful and bittersweet. Something about the song sounded peculiar, like the music seemed to be an unknown genre; at the very least it was foreign to the two women listening.

 _“Let the rain of what I feel right now come down, let the rain come down…”_ the voice crooned.

“Huh,” exhaled Korra. Her arm tightened around Asami’s waist. “Her voice…”

“…Beautiful,” Asami finished. “Korra, I think we should go listen to her. Everything about it… I feel drawn to it.”

Korra pulled her eyebrows together as she felt an emotion she was all too familiar with in the woman’s voice, but they unforrowed as the voice delved into a low note and within the same line of the song carried her voice to a shimmering height. Korra could feel the song melt and twist her heart simultaneously. “I do too.”

Korra’s fingertips were tingling, and she knew she was being spoken to from within. She leaned down on one knee and placed her palm gently on the ground. As her eyes closed she saw a path starting at her left and going through a dip in the hillside. The vision lead her right past the dip to a tiny meadow nestled in between the small, rolling hills. Underneath one of the few trees that dotted the meadow sat a young woman with long hair and fair skin strumming a guitar. Korra opened her eyes and stood up, facing Asami. “I feel a spiritual pull to her.” Korra looked into her wife’s mesmerizing green eyes. They mirrored her own, full of intrigue, awe, enchantment, and a hint of weariness. “How do you feel about going?”

Asami’s gaze lingered upon Korra’s face for several seconds before turning her eye line back towards the voice. “I don’t feel afraid,” she turned her eyes back to Korra. “I don’t even feel the least bit bothered that you seem to have some sort of spiritual pull to another woman,” she chuckled.

“Hey, you’re completely enamored too! Besides,” Korra’s eyebrows knitted together once again, “She’s exuding so much loneliness. That music, her voice sounds like… feels like the way my heart felt through all my moments of loneliness and isolation.” Korra looked up towards the voice past the hillside. “Maybe she could use some friendly company. Let’s do it.”

* * *

 

A minute or so into their walk, the song ended, but was followed shortly by another song of a completely different cadence as the one prior. Korra and Asami walked in silence for a moment, listening to the beauty and anguish that was the voice’s song, both obviously contemplative towards the woman and the situation in general. It was Asami who broke the silence between them.

“Does this seem dangerous to you at all?”

Korra continued to walk but directed a trusting look to her wife. “No. I trust my instincts on this. Does it seem strange to you? We don’t have to go if you feel threatened in any way.”

Asami noticed the double entendre. “No, I really feel like we’re supposed to do this. Is that strange? I just wanted to make sure you didn’t have any inhibitions about it. I don’t feel jealous, either, if I picked up on that correctly,” she answered with a flirty smile playing on her lips.

Korra grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand. She slowed her pace then turned to face her wife, halting her with her lips. “I love you, Asami. You get me.”

Asami breathed in the wonderful elemental breeze that was the essence of her wife as she returned the kiss. “Love you too, Babe. Let’s go.” They traversed several more steps in to come to the dip in the hill, and just on the other side Korra could see one of the trees she saw in her vision.

_“I’m beginning to need all that I can’t have…”_

Korra frowned as she felt all the anguish in the singing woman’s voice. “This way,” she whispered to Asami.

Another minute elapsed before the ocean blue and bright green eyes spotted the woman. She was partially hidden beneath the long, nimbly swaying branches of a tree in full bloom. They found themselves torn between making noise so as to not frighten the woman and approaching her silently because they couldn’t bear to interrupt her.

The lovers got their first real glimpse of the young woman at the same moment. They came to a stop as the breeze picked up just the slightest bit and the branches took a different angle in the wind. Her skin was fair, very similar to Asami’s, but a shade paler. Dainty brown freckles danced across her nose and cheeks. Her lips are full and pink and pouty, her bottom lip pierced with a dark metal hoop in the center. Her eyes were closed, but they could see her long, dark eyelashes kissing her high cheekbones. Her hair was a waist length collection of large dark brown corkscrew curls whose ends lifted and flew gently in the breeze. She sat cross legged with the tree at her back, her belongings sprawled around her, her guitar in her lap and the strings being strummed expertly and intricately. The wives looked at each other, and they saw the same thoughts in each other’s eyes. This girl was beautiful, but haunted, and Korra and Asami could sense that she would be stunning if she smiled. They were always up for meeting new people. Maybe they could brighten her day by chatting with her.

All of a sudden, Asami noticed the spirits. They were hiding in plain sight, all giving their attention to the musician. She tapped the pad of Korra’s thumb with her own, and when her wife’s eyes met hers she pointed out the closest hider to them with a quick tilt of her chin. Korra found it minutely odd that they weren’t showing themselves to the singing woman, although she didn’t feel it was for any negative reason.

Entranced by the woman, the wives stood with their hands clasped together and listened and stared in awe. Her lips formed around her words carefully and with ease. Her fingers were strong and sure on her strings. But just like that, the song was over. Before Korra and Asami could register the fact, stormy blue-grey eyes were upon them.

The young woman tensed for a second, but then her shoulders relaxed when she saw Korra and Asami’s entwined fingers. The shock left her face and the tiniest of smiles ghosted over her lips. She dropped her left hand to her lap and draped her right arm over her deep blue guitar. She remained locked in a stare with the two women for a moment, then blushed and averted her gaze while her right hand played with her pick.

Korra nudged Asami with her shoulder. Asami stumbled forward, just the slightest bit off balance by the movement. She catches her wife’s loving gaze for a moment before awkwardly clearing her throat.

“Hello. I’m Asami. I’m sorry if we startled you.”

The guitarist’s lips displayed the same ghost smile as before. Korra stepped forward and wrapped her arm into the crook of Asami’s elbow. The stranger’s eyebrows furrowed for a fleeting moment as she narrowed her eyes at the Avatar in a look that could only be described as bewilderment. The look was gone as quickly as it came.

Korra spoke up. “I’m Korra. I hope you don’t mind that we were listening to you. Your music… I… we… we’ve never heard music quite like that before. And your voice… wow.” Asami blushed and turned to look at her gorgeous wife with a playful grin upon her lips. Korra’s face also held the colorful indication of her shyness and flattery.

The young woman’s lips parted and she bit her lower lip. She had taken her gaze off them again, trying to seem interested in a blossom that had fallen into her lap, but the pink in her cheeks gave her away. As the two women looked at her, the musician’s eyes flickered back and forth between their gaze and the ground. Taking a deep breath and exhaling to calm herself, she managed her name.

“I’m Tuesday.”

Korra and Asami smiled at the woman’s voice. Asami felt warmth there, and Korra sensed goodness. Both ladies were pretty good judges of character, thanks to years of experience. Her speaking voice was surprisingly deeper than either of the women had imagined, and it had a raspy sort of edge to it, which they would have never noticed from her singing voice.

Reading the smiles in the young couple’s faces, the corner of Tuesday’s mouth came up in a small half grin. She glanced at them and said, “Uh, no, it’s ok you listened. I haven’t had an audience in a very long time. But I’m glad you guys enjoyed yourselves. Music should always touch and inspire.”

The couple smiled and glanced at each other. Her accent and delivery of words was as foreign to them as the stranger’s music. They turned their gazes back to Tuesday. It was Korra who inquired, “May we join you?”

Tuesday blushed again, but answered clearly. “Sure.”

Asami tugged Korra and they collapsed cross legged next to each other across from Tuesday, but angled towards her. “So,” Asami started, “Where are you from? Are you a spirit? You look like an airbender. Which portal did you come through?” Asami mentally facepalmed herself. “Sorry if I’m rambling a bit, but it’s not very often we meet people here.”  Korra quietly chuckled at her wife’s adorable awkwardness in making a new friend.

Tuesday pulled both arms behind her guitar and dropped her hands into her lap. She tilted her head a little and adopted the same confused expression as before. After a moment she shrugged and answered. “Well, I suppose I can’t say I’m really from anywhere, because I feel as though I have no home. However, I was born in Massachusetts, and my father was raised in Ireland, hence the slight brogue. As for looking like an airbender, I’m not really sure what they look like exactly to either confirm or deny your assessment, but thank you, I think?... and…” Tuesday stopped midsentence as she became aware of the bunched up eyebrows on the faces of the women before her.

“Where is Massah-choo-sits? I’ve never heard of it before,” Korra asked as Asami piped up with her own question.

“Do you mean you don’t know what an airbender is?”

Tuesday reverted her gaze back to her hands in her lap. The confusion on her face appeared and disappeared in a flash. “Massachusetts is a state in the United States. As to which portal I came through, I would think it would be obvious.”

“But then how do you not know what an airbender is if you came from Republic City?” Korra asked, slightly baffled.

Tuesday retorted,” Ok, we’re not all going mad. I’ve never heard of Republic City. Is that where you end up if you go through that huge yellow portal over the hills?” Her hand pointed in the direction of their home.

Asami replied slowly. “Yes. Did you come through the southern portal?”

Tuesday stretched one shoulder up in a shrug and stuck out her bottom lip. “I’m not sure. Is that the southern portal?” she asked as she pointed in the direction of the path Korra and Asami took to reach her.

The wives looked at each other. They nodded.

This girl must be delusional.

Tuesday glanced back and forth between Asami and Korra.

“You guys can’t see it.”

Tuesday gently laid down her guitar and stood. She was a tad shorter than Korra, with wider hips and, both women noticed, a very voluptuous chest. She was barefoot and in pants with pockets at her sides and on her backside, which both women noticed as she walked around them.

She walked about fifty paces and turned back to them. “I came through here,” she called out, “but you two can’t see it, can you?”

Korra hopped up and grabbed her wife’s hand. She pulled her up and kept her grip as they walked over to Tuesday. Asami spoke softly to the young woman when they arrived at her side.

“Tuesday, that’s because there’s nothing there.”

Tuesday’s eyes widened for a moment at the insinuation, but she shrugged it off as she sensed these women weren’t being condescending.

But Tuesday was NOT always the best judge of character.

She shook her head to herself at the thought and pulled her gaze back up to the women in front of her for a moment. She sighed as she turned to look at the much thinner, pale pink portal an arm’s length away from her left side.

Then she walked into it and disappeared.


	2. Avalon

“What the actual…” Korra dropped to her knees, flabbergasted.  “Spirits!  Where did she go?”

Asami blinked her eyes a couple of times, then turned around in a circle.

“She was wrong.  We are going crazy,” Asami said. 

Just then, appearing in the same spot she was in before she disappeared, still barefoot with a shy half-grin on her face stood Tuesday.

“This portal.  I came through here.  But coming through that thing makes me feel a little weak, so I’m going to go sit, okay?” Tuesday’s ghost smile made a brief appearance.  As she walked past them she murmured quietly to them, “I’m not sure if you two realize, but you’re drooling a little right now.”

The newlyweds stared slack-jawed at the guitarist as she tiredly stumbled toward her tree, and were still standing there thoroughly confounded when Tuesday reached her tree thirty seconds later.

“What just happened, Korra?” Asami grasped for any sort of explanation as to what they just saw.  Korra, on the other hand, had stepped over to where Tuesday had disappeared and reappeared.  She was the Avatar!  Why couldn’t she see this portal? 

“You think she was playing with us, Asami?  Do you think she can turn herself invisible or something?  We’ve seen crazier things,” she said with darkness in her tone.

“As alarmed as I am right now, I don’t feel anything sinister.  Do you?” 

“No, I don’t, but I’m thinking Tenzin needs to see this.  Well… try… to see this?”  Korra’s one hand flew to the back of her neck and the other perched itself on her hip, the look on her face one of complete perplexity.  “I’m pretty sure he’s never heard of anything like this before.”

“Babe, I’m pretty sure NO one has ever heard of anything like this before.” Asami offered.

* * *

 Once Tuesday had gotten her sore limbs settled on the ground, her back once again against the tree, she exhaled slowly and looked over to where the two women stood.  A small half-hearted chuckle escaped from her throat. 

She didn’t understand why only she could see the cylindrically shaped pink line, especially since her intuition was telling her Korra was deeply spiritual in some sense.  She was also coming to realize that the large yellow portal she’d seen in the distance yesterday when she went for a walk would take her to a different world.  Isn’t that the one thing she’d been dreaming of lately… to go to a place she could try to start her life over?  A place where maybe her ghosts couldn’t follow her? 

She sighed again and looked around.  That’s why she’d stayed here since she got here.  She could actually fall asleep here.  Her food was running out, but she didn’t quite get hungry here.  Her liquids were running low as well, but she hardly felt thirsty either.  Her first day here she had honestly thought she’d died, although the soreness and fatigue from coming through the portal had reminded her she was human.  And although she might not feel hungry or thirsty, the lack of sustenance was starting to show on her body. 

She watched as Asami pulled Korra into a hug.  Their bodies fit into each other, Tuesday noticed.  What a pull she felt from those two, and the fact that they were insanely beautiful and seemingly so kind didn’t help matters.  She picked up her guitar and absentmindedly began strumming a tune as she watched the lovers and tried to remember what it felt like to be held like that. 

She closed her eyes in the moment and sang.  It was the only thing that gave her any shred of happiness.

“ _Let me surround you, my sea to your shore…”_

* * *

 

Although Korra and Asami were enveloped in one another’s embrace, both of their heads turned towards the sound of Tuesday as she started to sing again.

“I could seriously listen to her sing all day,” Asami says to her wife.

“I don’t know if I could.  My heart breaks when she sings.  But if she’s got some happy songs mixed somewhere in all that torment I could easily listen to her all day.”  Korra pulled back slightly to look at her wife.  “I have an idea.”

“Ut oh.”

“What?  Heeey!” Korra smiled but put a playful pout on her lips.  Asami threw her head back with laughter and pulled her wife back against her.

“You know I’m only playing, Baby.  Your ideas are almost always good ones,” Asami chuckled.  “What’s your idea?”

Korra continued to play the pout.  _Almost always!_

 “Nothing.”  One of the many things she loved about Asami was how they could jokingly pick on each other.

“Awww Korraaaa,” Asami placed kisses all over her wife’s blushing face until Korra’s pouting lip pulled back in and she giggled.  “Tell me your plan, because we’re really starting to get pressed for time here.”

Korra left Asami’s embrace as they both turned to walk back to Tuesday, but their hands remained together.  Korra said, “I think we should bring her back to Republic City with us.”

Asami nodded her head in agreement without hesistation.  “Yeah.  I can’t see bringing Tenzin out here to meet her, and we can’t ask her to stay here and wait for us to come back with him, if she’d even agree to that.  She appeared a little hesitant to even talk to us.  She seems so lonely and… broken,” Asami paused.  Her eyes left Tuesday for a moment as she turned her head to look at her wife.  “Korra, would you be okay with inviting her back to the manor to stay until we figure out… whatever this is?”

Korra, wanting to keep quiet to listen to Tuesday as they approached, simply nodded.

* * *

 

 

Tuesday’s eyes opened to see Korra and Asami standing in front of her with their mouths hanging open again. 

Another small chuckle escaped her lips.  A moment of surprise caught her as she realized that was two chuckles today.  _Huh.  It’s been awhile since that’s happened._   Then again, she’d been alone for a very long time and didn’t really give anyone a chance to make her laugh.  Once in awhile, she would be lost in a memory and find herself smiling.  But it was, sadly, only once in awhile. 

Tuesday was truly glad they enjoyed her music so much.  It was very flattering, and they DID inspire her to sing that particular song, after all.  Their love and connection to each other was radiant.

Tuesday felt her heart pound, then her chest tightened and a pain rippled through her body.  She winced and looked down at the strings of her guitar.

The wince didn’t go unnoticed.  “Tuesday, are you all right?” Asami asks.

Tuesday nodded and looked up at them.  “No worries here, ladies.”

The couple looked at each other and spoke with their eyes.  They could tell it was something.

“Tuesday,” Korra began, “Asami and I would really like it if you joined us in Republic City.  We were on our way back there when we heard you singing.”  She paused as she collected her thoughts to try to explain to Tuesday their lives there and a way to convince her to come with them.  “In Republic City, Asami and I are sort of… well… big deals.”

Asami doubled over in laughter.  Tuesday’s ghost smile appeared.

“What?  We are, Babe, as you reminded me earlier,” Korra flashed a sly wink at her wife, and in turn Asami blushed while she continued to laugh.  The sound was music in Korra’s ears, the look on her face a feast for her soul.  She turned back to Tuesday.  “Anyway,” she gave a sideways glace at her wife, who happened to be wiping a single tear away from her eye, “here’s a brief rundown for you.  I am what’s called The Avatar.  I’m a bridge between our world,” she motioned between herself and Asami, “and the Spirit world...”  Her arms opened up to the beauty that surrounded them, “…which is where we are now.  Anyone from our world can come here, but I am fused with Raava, the spirit of light and peace, which grants me special gifts to serve humankind and promote balance.”  Korra felt a warm surge of energy from within, and she smiled.  “We mentioned airbenders to you before, but there are many types of benders.  Earthbenders, firebenders, waterbenders, metalbenders, lavabenders, sandbenders…” Korra continued.  “As the Avatar, I’m the only person in my world capable of bending the four core elements.  I think I was meant to find you today.” 

Korra stopped her explanation of things for a moment and together the married couple watched Tuesday process the information. 

She immediately picked up on this and stated, “I’m following.  Please continue.”

Korra shrugged, smiled, and continued.  “I hope I’m not coming across as arrogant, really, we aren’t like that at all,” she paused as she heard Asami giggle.  She turned to face her wife.  “What now?”

Asami smiled warmly at her wife and said, “When Korra was four she bended fire, water, and earth in front of White Lotus members and said, ‘I’m the Avatar!  You gotta deal with it!’” Asami erupted into a belly laugh.  Somehow through the laughter she managed to add, “She’s confident, and maybe a little cocky, but she really isn’t arrogant.  I don’t want my laughter to confuse you,” Asami ended her statement with her gaze upon Tuesday.

The thought hadn’t really crossed Tuesday’s mind.  She was spiritually intuitive to a fault, even if she considered herself a horrible judge of character.  She saw the demons in the Avatar’s eyes.  She could tell Korra knew defeat, humility, loneliness, and pain.  She could also tell Korra handled her ghosts better than she could handle hers.  And she could see that the two women in front of her were genuine.  It almost swayed her decision.

“Look, guys,” Tuesday spoke as she hung her head, “I… I’m not good with people.  And I don’t think you’re arrogant, Korra.”  Her slate colored eyes met the cyan pair with a firm, honest glance.  “You both seem like wonderful people, I really mean that.”  She met Asami’s gaze and she saw the worry pooling behind those enchantingly bright green eyes. 

How could this woman, these two kind, beautiful women, important women, strong women hold enough emotion for her to worry about her?  Tuesday couldn’t understand how she meant anything to them, but it was definitely concern she saw in their eyes.  She dropped her head.  “I don’t wish to become anyone’s burden.  I won’t bother your world, if that’s what you’re worried about.  I plan to stay here.”  She looked around and her ghost smile flitted across her lips.  “I’ll go back and forth between here and my world for things I need.  Maybe I’ll even run into you guys once in awhile.”

“Tuesday,” Korra pleaded, “We felt drawn to you for a reason.  It can’t be a coincidence that we met you.  And the fact that you came through a portal we can’t see…” her voice trailed off as she faced the direction of Tuesday’s magic act.  Her eyes searched the area for a hint of anything without success.  Korra locked eyes with Tuesday and exclaimed, “I can see in your eyes and hear in your music and feel in your words a pain I have felt before.  I don’t know your story, but I’d like to, I’ve been able to work through a lot of my past, and although I’ll never get over it completely, I’ve learned to accept it all.  Maybe we can help you.”

Tuesday looked back and forth between the gazes being held on her by the two women- the ocean and the forest looking into her storm to read any indication that what Korra said had swayed her.  Tuesday leaned back against her tree and softly started strumming her guitar.  The newlyweds faces developed tiny smiles at the sound.

“Come with us, Tuesday.  You’ll love Republic City.  It’s beautiful there.  Besides, you have dark circles under your eyes; I can tell you need a good night’s sleep and a full meal,” Asami warmly offered. 

Tuesday paused her playing and folded her arms over the top of her guitar.  She pursed her lips and explained, “I sleep better here than I’ve slept in years.  My eyes were much darker before I came here.”  She dropped her gaze to her lap.  “Your hospitality is really very kind, but… you guys… I just don’t…” she stammered and fell silent.

Korra peered up at her wife and Tuesday noticed their nonverbal communication.  They were so in tune they didn’t always need to vocalize their thoughts to know what the other was thinking.  Maybe they were telepathic?  Whatever was happening between them, Tuesday thought, it was pure beauty.  Tuesday felt warmth touch her heart as she focused on the look they gave one another, and she watched as Korra pulled Asami into her muscular arms for a quick hug.  But just like before, as Tuesday’s heart had tried to… _feel_ something… it clenched in pain and she winced.  A startled look jumped onto the newlywed’s faces, and they both walked the few steps to Tuesday and sat with her in between them. 

Tuesday’s eyes widened.  She started to panic a little.  The lovers noticed.

“Hey,” Korra said gently, as she started to reach for Tuesday’s shoulder, but decided against it.  She didn’t want to alarm the songstress any further.  “Just give it a shot.  Let us at least get you fed before you come back here.  And don’t think you’re going to get rid of us so easily.  Knowing you’re here, we’re going to come visit you as often as we can.”  Korra intentionally kept out the part that she wanted Tuesday to meet Tenzin.  She and Asami would cross that bridge when they got to it.

Tuesday relaxed the slightest bit and leaned back against the tree to put an inch more distance between her and the two women.  She shook her head the tiniest bit when she realized she couldn’t remember the last time she was in this close a proximity to anyone, let alone two stunning women who exuded such energy.  She felt a burning in her chest and realized she’d been holding her breath.  She took a deep breath and exhaled.  She furrowed her brow and clenched her teeth.

_They’re not going to leave me alone_ , she thought to herself.  _I’ll just go, try to eat, try to sleep, wash up and leave tomorrow morning before they wake up.  I’ll leave them a gift and a note for their kindness.  Then I’ll stock up on supplies in town and disappear._  

Tuesday took another deep breath and said, “All right.  I’ll come with you guys, but just for the night.  I leave tomorrow, okay?”

The couple nodded simultaneously, a grin on both their faces.

* * *

 

Tuesday had to admit it was getting a little bit easier and a tad less painful to watch Korra and Asami interact.  She had fallen into pace a step behind them and to their right.  Korra stood an arm’s length away from her with her left arm around Asami’s waist, and Asami’s right arm was relaxed across Korra’s shoulders.  They kept perfect step with each other despite their height difference, though it was only a small one.  It was breathtaking, Tuesday thought, to see two women love each other this much.  Her world had places where it was okay to love someone one of the same sex, but there was always an issue somewhere, or a catch, or politics or religion…

She wondered what it was like in Republic City.  She imagined they must be in the public eye, and she imagined it must be well accepted if two such “big deals” were in a relationship together.  A smile tugged at the side of her mouth as she remembered Korra’s previous comment.

Movement caught Tuesday’s eye as Korra leaned up and gave her wife a kiss on her cheek, right beside her ear.  Asami blushed and gave her wife a sultry look.  She pulled Korra’s ear to her mouth and whispered something.  Tuesday couldn’t hear what was said, but she didn’t need to.  Korra’s face said it all.  Tuesday heard a hitch in Korra’s breath, yet all the while neither of the lovebirds broke pace.

Tuesday shied away at the tender moment.  She felt as though she was intruding, but not in a bad way.  It was just so intimate…

She heard Asami giggle.  “So sorry, Tuesday.  I don’t think we mentioned we’re on our way home from our honeymoon.”

Korra chipped in, “Yeah, but Babe, we kind of always act like this.”

Asami tilted her head.  “Yes, but usually not in front of new friends.  We let them learn our quirks first then bombard them with our sickening mushiness.”

Tuesday’s ghost smile flitted across her face.  “Please don’t apologize.  I find you two very refreshing,” she confessed.  “Your love is beautifully captivating.  And congratulations are in order; I bet the ceremony was amazing.”  Tuesday attempted her half-grin and hoped her face didn’t give away her own internal struggle to the two attentive women.

Korra turned towards Tuesday and said, “It truly was incredible.  We’ll have to share more about it with you some time,” further implying a future of having Tuesday in it.  “Come here.”  Korra motioned with her right hand for Tuesday to fall in line next to them.  “I would like to learn more about you.”

_Oh no._

Tuesday cringed.  “There isn’t much to tell you.  I’m as baffled as you are that you guys aren’t able to see that portal, not to mention the thing terrified me when I saw it in my world.  But… it was shown to me, so I wasn’t necessarily afraid to go through it, obviously.  No one had ever seen any portals that I know of in my world, no magic, so imagine my surprise when I saw it.  Then again,” Tuesday took a breath, “I’ve always been able to see things other people couldn’t see.  I used to think I was paranoid about everything, until I discovered that all the things I was saw happening or thought I saw happening WERE actually happening.  But that’s not magic, that’s a combination of reading and observing people and being crazy.”  She glanced momentarily at the two women walking beside her.  Why was she talking so much?  She didn’t like talking about herself.  “Not… dangerous crazy… just messed up crazy.”  Tuesday’s eyes pinched shut as she realized how off-putting she must sound to them.

Asami pulled her wife closer into her side.  She recognized self-deprecation, as she watched her wife struggle with it at times.  Tuesday was yet another sweet, beautiful woman who suffered from beating up herself.  Her heart ached for the girl.  She could feel sympathy for the guitarist pouring out of Korra.

“Hey,” Korra risked a step a little closer to Tuesday, “We’ve all been there before.  Believe me.  And for some people, it’s harder to handle.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you. ” Tuesday had always been able to tell when people were outright lying to her.  Korra wasn’t lying to her.  She felt herself trying to believe Korra’s words.  In the back of her mind she could easily sense that the two women did have an ulterior motive in bringing her to Republic City, but she also felt as though she didn’t need to worry.  It wasn’t like these two were going to conduct torturous experiments on her, although any type of interrogation from anyone was almost like torture.  Ugh!  What was she getting herself into?

* * *

 

All in all, Tuesday almost turned back four times on their way to the portal.  The walk had taken less time than would seem necessary to reach the massive yellow beam.  Only after the scenery had drastically shifted a second time did Tuesday catch on that somehow Korra was warping their distance to the portal.  She was still not sure if they noticed that she realized or if they figured she didn’t notice it at all.  For Tuesday, the walk back had been mentally and physically tolerable, as Asami and Korra kept their questions fairly simple.  They wanted to know how long she’d been in the spirit world, voiced their concern that going through the portal caused Tuesday fatigue, and asked how many yuans she charged for guitar lessons. 

In turn, Tuesday actually found herself asking Korra and Asami questions.  She was having a real conversation for the first time in what felt like ages.  She learned about Future Industries and Asami’s profession as an engineer and mechanic and “all around badass” as Korra put it.  She was surprised to discover that while Korra could bend four elements along with extensions of those elements, like metal and ice, Asami couldn’t bend any. 

“But don’t let that fool you.  She doesn’t need to bend to kick my ass,” Korra boasted while her wife turned pink.

“Korra, stop it.  You’re making me blush.”

Tuesday found herself completely enamored by the couple.  It would be so nice to have friends again, she thought.  But friends leave.  Family leaves.  Lovers leave.  Children leave.

 She swallowed back a sob.

* * *

 

“We made great time, thanks to you, Babe,” Asami kissed Korra’s temple.

“I’m just lucky I was able to do it.  Sometimes I can’t, but it always works when I really need it to,” she admitted sheepishly.

“That was wicked, by the way,” Tuesday confessed.  The women gave her a warm smile.

Tuesday stared up at the line in the sky in awe.  This thing was massive compared to the portal she came through, although the pale pink spectral cylinder she came through did have the same curling tendrils dancing throughout its beam.  _Interesting._

She gently sat her guitar case on the ground and mumbled, “Give me just a sec.”  She reached around to her backpack and pulled a pair of Chucks out of a pocket.  Out of the corner of her eye she caught movement in the purple flowers surrounding the portal.  A tiny round spirit was looking at her with an adorable grin on its face. 

“Hello,” the spirit chirped.  “I’m Avalon.”

Tuesday blinked.  _It could talk!_   She’d seen them hiding while listening to her, sure, and she was in awe of the tiny creatures of all shapes and sizes and colors.  It was part of the reason she had stayed in the Spirit world, as Korra called it. 

She turned to look at the women standing beside her.  Both of their faces were plastered with huge smiles.  “Go ahead,” Asami said as she nodded at Tuesday.

She turned back to the small lime green spirit.  “I’m Tuesday,” she started awkwardly.  “I noticed you and many of your friends watching me since I’ve been here.”

Avalon nodded.  “Forgive us our awe.  Your arrival here was manifested from our wishes.  We, somehow, created your portal.  You see, we are the spirit world not just for the Avatar’s realm, but for many.  We are most closely bound to this world,” Avalon gestured to the yellow portal, “But that doesn’t mean we belong solely to them.  But I digress.  There is information I need to share with you.”

“You will be able to travel through this portal with Avatar Korra, as she is part spirit, and therefore can serve as your guide.  Do not try to go through this portal alone!  Do you recall the soreness you got from coming through your portal?  Imagine that one hundred fold.  Of course, this is all speculation, but do you really wish to find out through trial and error?” Avalon inquired.

At a loss for words, Tuesday simply shook her head.

Avalon continued.  “If Avatar Korra is unavailable to come with you, call for me.  I am tied to you, and should be able to hear you no matter where you are.  I, too, can assist you through the portal.”

“How… why are you tied to me?” Tuesday asked breathlessly.

Avalon smiled gently.  “We spirits are called to for help from all worlds and realms and times.  We only meddle when absolutely necessary, because some things just need a push.  In turn, we look at the best possible solutions to things asked of us to see what we could possibly do.”

“We spirits can keep in tune with each other through a collective consciousness.  It is constantly there for us to tap into at any time.  Lately we’ve been thinking we needed someone spiritually strong enough to travel between the realms.  For whatever reason, for as long as we have existed, we have not been able to travel to any other realms except for this one.”  Avalon again points to the portal to Republic City. 

“But you still hear the prayers of people from other places?”  Tuesday asked, enthralled.

“I heard yours.  That’s why I’m tied to you,” Avalon admitted.  The tiny spirit dropped its head and explained further.  “You have always been so drastically different from other humans in your world.  You have maintained your spirituality, kindness, and respect for nature and all living things even though you have been through so much turmoil in your life.  Most people would grow cold and dark if they experienced what you have, yet you are a very bright soul, and so very selfless.  I do wish you could see what you look like through our eyes.”

At Avalon’s admission, several spirits poked their tiny heads out from behind the flowers where they were hiding and nodded.

“For those reasons, you were chosen.  That and we can answer your call for help now.  In fact, we already have.”  Avalon turned to look at Korra and Asami and smiled brightly. 

“As always, Avatar Korra, thank you for listening.  We knew you would find her.  You both were also chosen to have a part to play in all of this.  I know you’re ready.”

Korra beamed with pride and Asami laughed as Korra’s chest puffed out the slightest bit. 

Avalon turned to head back into the flowers.  “Your paths are tied together now.  I will see you soon, Tuesday,” Avalon whispered as it disappeared into the foliage.


	3. Through the Portal

All three ladies sat for several minutes in complete silence, basking in the yellow glow of the portal. 

It had been a few minutes since Avalon and the other spirits had disappeared, leaving the newfound friends to sit and process everything they had been told.

Tears silently spilled down Tuesday’s cheeks.  She sat with her back to the couple, legs pulled into her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs.  On her face was a smile.

An actual smile, albeit a small one. 

Tuesday’s heart had burst open when Avalon told her he… she… it had heard her.  She’d always hoped _something_ could hear her when she spoke to the stars, when she wished through her tears that things could someday soon look up for her. 

She felt flattered and terrified to be chosen for something so big especially without even knowing exactly what it required.  But she also sensed the truth and trust in Avalon’s words.  It had put hope in her heart which was an emotion she was sure would never reside there again.  She felt optimistic. 

She wiped her cheeks and turned her head to Korra and Asami.  No more hiding from these guys, she thought.  Korra was right.  They were all drawn to each other for a reason.  It was time she opened up at least for the sake of finding out what that reason was.

“Are you okay?” Asami asked softly. 

Tuesday nodded.  “I’m actually better than okay,” she replied quietly.  “This is kind of monumental for me.”

The newlyweds beamed at her.

“You’re actually smiling, Tuesday,” Korra pointed out.  “You should do it more often.  You’re… um…”

“Beautiful,” Asami finished.

Tuesday blushed scarlet.

Tuesday hopped to her feet.  “Don’t you guys have somewhere to be in three hours?”  She turned her head and hid behind her hair.

Asami giggled and Korra chuckled.  Tuesday’s smile was no longer a ghost. 

Asami intertwined her fingers with Korra’s.  They stared lovingly at each other for a moment then turned to face Tuesday.  Korra reached for her hand.

For a moment, Tuesday’s chest clenched in trepidation.  Avalon’s tiny face appeared in her thoughts as a reminder.  She brought her eyes up to meet Korra’s ocean blue gaze. 

_You can do this, Tuesday.  You know it’s okay._

Tuesday held up a shaky, sweaty hand, and Korra gently clasped it with hers.  She nodded once and asked, “You ready?”

Tuesday exhaled.  It had been nearly two years since she had felt anyone’s touch.  For a long time, she didn’t want it, then when she found herself craving it she feared it would hurt too much if it happened. 

Korra’s palms were covered in cloth that extended up the length of her arms.  Her fingers were strong and long, Tuesday noted, great for playing instruments.  Her hand was very warm, and her skin rough and somehow soft at the same time.  It felt wonderful.

Tuesday nodded.  “Yes.  I’m ready.”

Korra, Asami, and Tuesday stepped out of the portal to a sunny late afternoon in Republic City. 

Tuesday’s eyes drank in her surroundings.  She noticed Korra and Asami watching her. 

The first thing she noticed was the she didn’t feel any of the fatigue and soreness she felt from coming through her portal.  She was pretty sure she had Korra to thank for that.  The second thing she noticed was the massive green pit of vines she was standing in.  The city looked war-torn, but it had an epic feel.    It was just…

Perfect.

Sure, it reminded Tuesday of the city near her parent’s home, huge buildings, the sound of transportation, typical city hustle bustle.  The difference was the feeling.  Perhaps it was just her hope making her feel this way.  A small smile formed on her lips.  She met the questioning looks coming from the intense blue and green eyes of her new companions.  Tuesday’s grin grew wider, and in turn, Korra and Asami’s eyes grew bright as they returned her smile. 

“Considering my mind has been blown today…” Korra makes a peculiar coughing sound, “…in more ways than one *cough*, I am SO ready for this party!  I didn’t really miss anyone but now that we’re here I’m really excited to see everyone!  I can’t wait to see the look on Lin’s face when we pull out our flasks!”  Korra started bouncing back and forth from foot to foot. 

Asami beamed endearingly at her wife and gently shook her head.  Tuesday just watched them with a new attitude.  She was _feeling_.  She was feeling _good_.  Instead of causing her to ache like before, their love filled her with warmth starting in the middle of her chest and radiating to the ends of her fingertips and the tips of her toes.  Avalon coming to her and explaining things, no matter how vague the details were seemed to shift her perspective on everything about coming here.

Asami started to walk to the left of the portal, and Korra followed, still bouncing about.  Tuesday took a deep breath and followed.  Asami glanced at her watch and turned to address Tuesday.  “I know you said you didn’t want to join us for our party, but is there any chance you’ve changed your mind?”

“Exactly how many people are going to be at this get together?” Tuesday questioned meekly.

Korra kept bouncing as she started counting off on her fingers.  “Well, there’s Bo and Opal, Jinora, Lin and Kya, Tenzin and Pema, Mako…”

Asami turned and smiled at Tuesday while Korra’s rambling faded into the background as she danced around naming names.

Asami answered.  “A little over twenty.  Most of our family vacationed at the estate while we were away, and will be staying a few more days with us before they leave.  I do hate to throw you amongst so many new people at one time.  If you would rather we get a hotel room for you…”

“Oh no, I already feel a bit of a burden.  Besides, this get together being at your place, if I feel overwhelmed I can sneak off to my room, right?” 

“Of course.  You don’t even need to come down at all if you don’t want to, but I assure you everyone is going to be curious,” Asami countered.

“Can’t blame them.  I’d be curious about me as well,” Tuesday chuckled.

They had reached the edge of the pit and Tuesday saw what could best be described as a natural vine ladder.  Korra hopped up onto the ladder and flew right up it, like she’d done it a million times.  Asami quickly followed in the same manner.  Though Tuesday still felt a little fatigued from her earlier trip into her portal, she also felt invigorated from newfound feelings, and she grabbed the first rung and pulled herself up.

She took a little longer than her friends to reach the top, but when she got there, they were waiting with one hand extended each.  Tuesday gulped.  _Gotta get used to physical contact again, Tuesday.  Just do it._

She reached up and took Asami’s hand first.  Considering her profession, Tuesday had expected rougher hands, but they were mostly soft and only a little rough, just like Korra’s.  On the other side of the coin, Asami’s hands were cool to the touch whereas Korra’s hands were tiny furnaces.

She was reminded exactly how warm they were when she grabbed Tuesday’s other hand and together the couple brought her all the way to the top.

“Thanks for the help.  I’m out of shape,” Tuesday stammered.

“Don’t be silly.  We’re happy to help,” Korra retorted. 

Tuesday grinned sheepishly as they started to walk towards what looked like a large parking garage.  She was definitely feeling overwhelmed, but for once fear wasn’t holding her hostage.  She really liked these two, and she felt as though they genuinely liked her as well.  She thought of Avalon telling her her prayers were being listened to; could this mean her life would finally have some light after years of darkness?

They walked through the ground floor doorway of the parking garage and walked towards the car parked in the very first spot, nestled in the corner.  It was a deep blue convertible, almost the same shade as her guitar. 

“Sweet car!” Tuesday exclaimed.  “And rock star parking.  That was good luck.”

“Actually, Future Industries built this garage, so we always get that spot,” Asami admitted.

“We have an hour and a half until everyone starts congregating,” Korra chimed in.  “Let’s stop for some sashimi and seaweed rolls really quick!”

“I guarantee there will be some at the manor, my love,” she turned away from her wife’s pout and cranked the car.  “I am very glad you can’t marry food, otherwise I never would have landed you, Baby.”  She winked at her wife.

“Right again, Babe, on both counts.  Wherever my father is, you will find sashimi and seaweed rolls.”

* * *

Tuesday didn’t expect to meet anyone right away, but as they pulled up to the manor she could see two older children in identical red and yellow bodysuits playing with a giant, white… dog? 

Wait, were they playing or defending themselves?  At that moment, they took a stance and made identical movements with their arms.  Tuesday watched bug-eyed as the air around them swirled and the giant dog was pushed back.  It continued to fight against the wind to reach the kids.

Korra noticed the look of alarm on Tuesday’s face.  “Oh, don’t worry!  That’s our polar bear dog, Naga.  She’s our best friend.  She’s really not trying to eat them… well, she might be trying to eat Meelo.”  There was a grin on her face from ear to ear.  “The not-so-little guy over there with the tattooed bald head is Meelo.  That precious little pain-in-the-butt next to him is Ikki.  They’re kids two and three out of four belonging to Tenzin and Pema.  You’ll probably meet them later, if you’re up to it.  Oh, they’re airbenders, obviously,” gesturing to the kids, “but now you can put the name to the action.”  Korra gave Tuesday a lop-sided grin.

All of a sudden, there was a shadow over the car… the whole car.  The polar bear dog had noticed them and reached them very quickly and it looked like she was about to land on the whole thing.  But instead her massive front legs came down right beside the passenger side door in a halt and a huge, pink tongue slurped all the way from Korra’s shoulder to the top of her head, nearly picking her up out of her seat.  Korra grabbed onto Naga’s head and was pulled out of the car by her friend, who gently sat her down on the ground and put her paw around her.  Asami came and joined the hug, and Naga kissed her too. 

By that time the kids had reached them.  Ikki was bouncing up and down and asking questions in rapid fire.

“OH-MY-SPIRITS-HOW-WAS-THE-HONEYMOON-NEVERMIND-I-DON’T-WANT-DETAILS-BUT-HOW-WAS-THE-SPIRIT-WORLD?-DID-YOU-SEE-IROH-AGAIN?-WHO’S-THE-GIRL-IS-SHE-FOR-MAKO-CUZ-JINORA-TOLD-ME-YOU-GUYS-WANTED-TO-FIND-HIM-A-GIRLFRIEND…”

Meelo, however, was staring at her.  When he realized that she had noticed, he puffed out his chest a little bit and tried to wipe the look of awe off his face.  Tuesday noticed as Korra nudged Asami and pointed over to Meelo. 

“Seem familiar?” she asked Asami.  She looked like she was having a hard time not cracking up.

“In more ways than one.”  She winked at Korra.  A flash of pink appeared across the Avatar’s cheeks.

“Guys, this is Tuesday.  We met her in the spirit world.  She’s going to be staying with us for a little while,” Asami explained.  “Tuesday, this is Naga, Ikki, and that strapping young gentleman is Meelo.”

“Pleased to meet you.”  Ikki burst into laughter while Asami and Korra hid their chortles behind their hands as Meelo’s voice went back and forth between that of a boy and a man.

“Oh man, puberty strikes again!  Tough luck, Meelo!” Ikki yelled as she took off running.  “Nice meeting you!” she directed to Tuesday, her voice fading as she increased the distance between herself and her irate, embarrassed brother.

Meelo glanced at Tuesday, mumbled something incoherent, and took off after his sister, his head the same shade of red as his clothing.

Tuesday felt the earth tremble beneath her feet as the polar bear dog made her way over to her.  As a huge animal lover, she was in awe, but this truly was a HUGE animal.  What if she didn’t like her?

A huge nose sniffed her hair, then her neck.  She couldn’t help but giggle; it tickled!  Next thing she knew, she was almost lifted off her feet as Naga nuzzled into her side.  Her heart melted.

“Hey, girl.  You are so pretty.”  The brilliant beast looked into her eyes as if she knew what she was saying. 

She turned and saw the dazzling smiles on her hostess’s faces.  Naga’s approval seemed to seal the deal for them.

* * *

 

 Somehow, some way, Asami and Korra were able to show her to her room without meeting anyone else along the way.  Tuesday was relieved.  She was on overload at the moment.

_I must be in shock.  This whole day is insane.  Did I eat some bad mushrooms?_

Her face must have been whiter than normal because as soon as Asami shut the bedroom door behind them and looked at her guest her eyes widened.  “Spirits, Tuesday, are you feeling all right?”

Tuesday bee-lined for an armchair and plopped down.  She took in a shaky breath.  “I’m a little overwhelmed with the day’s events,” she admitted.  “I just got over my shock of the portal situation a few days ago, then yesterday on a walk I saw your portal for the first time, then today you guys walk into my life and I’m in another world…” she ran out of breath.  “I’m feeling and seeing all sorts of unbelievable things; I feel like I’m on a roller coaster.  I can’t tell if I’m going to wake up or pass out.”  She put her head in her hands.

“I don’t think I can handle… I am going to _try_ to _handle_ … whatever is asked of me.  But I’ll fail.  I’m afraid I’ll fail.”  She voiced the feelings and fears that had been on her mind since they spoke to Avalon.

“Why me?  I’m not strong.  I mean, I’m twenty-five years old and the last twenty-three months of my life I’ve barely been able to take care of myself.  If I can’t help myself, how can I help anyone else?” 

Korra seated herself in a neighboring armchair.  “Well, if you ask me, I’d say you were holding yourself together pretty well.”  Tuesday felt the comfort emanating from Korra’s words.

“I’d say,” Asami agreed.

Tuesday was still reeling.

“I’m so sorry guys,” she asked softly, “but could I have some time?  Maybe fifteen minutes?  I’ll come down in a bit if you need me to but I just need to calm myself down.”

She felt a hand on her back between her shoulder blades and jumped.  Asami’s hands flew to her mouth as she stepped back.

“Oh, Tuesday, I’m so sorry for startling you.”

Tuesday tried to calm her shaking so the other women wouldn’t see it.  She looked Asami in the eye.  “Please don’t apologize.  I know you’re only trying to comfort me.  I… I don’t touch… I haven’t…” her voice cracked as she confessed one of her many secrets.  “…today, when Korra took my hand to go through the portal… that was the first time I’ve touched… or allowed anyone to touch me in almost two years.  I’m just trying to work through _all_ of this.”

She could almost feel the pained looks on the couple’s faces.  She didn’t want pity.  She just wanted to roll herself into a ball and count backwards from a hundred.  Maybe cry a little. 

“We totally understand.  Our room is right across the hall if you need us. The guest wing was full but I like this better anyway. Can we check on you in a half hour?” Korra asked.

Tuesday nodded.  “Thank you.”

As soon as the door closed, the unwelcome tears began to fall.

* * *

 

Korra and Asami entered their room and shut the door quietly.

“Oh man,” Korra said as she slumped down onto their bed.  “I thought it might take awhile for the weight of what she was told to catch up with her.  I’m feeling swarmed by information; I can only imagine what she’s feeling.”

Asami sat next to her wife and wrapped her arms around her.  She nuzzled into her neck and sighed.  “I feel horrible for touching her.  I hope I didn’t frighten her too much.”

Korra got a faraway look in her eyes.  Asami could tell Korra was reliving some memories, memories she didn’t really talk about much.  After a few moments, the haze left Korra’s cyan eyes and she turned to her wife.  “I have you to anchor me when I’m in a dark place.  I have our family.  I have the feeling Tuesday doesn’t have anyone.”

“I just wish we knew more,” Asami replied mournfully.  “I think if we knew her better we’d have a better idea of how to help her.”

Korra gave Asami a gentle smile and leaned in for a tender kiss.  She melted when the raven-haired beauty’s lips touched hers.  “She’ll come around in her own time.  Doing it her way is crucial; that I know.”  The two lovers winced as they simultaneously recalled the three years Korra was absent after her battle with Zaheer.  Asami’s brilliant green eyes clouded with tears.

“Hey now, none of that.  That’ll never happen again, Babe.  You’re stuck with me now.  No matter where I go, no matter what I do, you’re coming with me, right?  We’re strongest when we’re together,” Korra comforted her new wife.

Asami smiled through her tears.  “I know that, I truly do.  But that doesn’t mean I want you to stop telling me.  It comforts me.” 

“I’ll never stop letting you know what you mean to me,” Korra whispered as she closed the distance between them for a soft, meaningful kiss.

As always, it took Asami’s breath away.  She grinned against Korra’s lips.  “Could I be any more in love with you?”

“I definitely believe so.  I fall in love with you a little more each day, even though I thought it wasn’t possible,” Korra replied, voice husky.

“Better put that voice away, Darling, or we’ll be late getting downstairs, and you know how I hate to be late.”  Asami tried to look at Korra but couldn’t meet her steamy gaze.

Korra sighed deeply, then pounced on Asami and pushed her back against the mattress.  Asami couldn’t help but laugh at her love’s playfulness.  Korra straddled her and Asami failed to resist pushing her hips up against her wife’s… just once.  Korra sucked in her breath sharply and grabbed Asami’s hands and pinned them above her head.  Asami watched as Korra’s eyes traveled from her bound hands to her forearms, to her face then her chest.  She gave Asami a sultry sideways grin as she said, “Don’t worry, I can be patient.  I’m very excited to be back in our bed.  I missed it.”

Asami’s mind immediately went to work at what Korra might be imagining and blushed.  “You need to get off me, Korra.  I’m about three seconds away from going primal on you, and I really don’t wish for our family to come upstairs in search of us and hear that.  Do you?”

Korra leaned down, pecked Asami’s lips, then leaned back up and released her hands.  She fluidly hopped off of the hotness that was her wife and ran towards their en suite. 

“I was all about a hot shower before, but now I’m thinking it’s going to be a cold one,” Asami heard Korra mumble on her way to the bathroom.  She rolled over and laughed into the bed.  She took a deep breath and let her mind wander.  She heard the shower turn on, then a few seconds later she heard the door being pulled back and a gasp as Korra stepped into the water.  _Guess she was serious about that cold shower_ , Asami thought.

While Korra showered, Asami let herself think about the girl in the room across the hall.  She wanted to apologize again for touching her, scaring her.  She seemed so tormented, tortured even; she reminded her of Korra right after her battle with Zaheer.  Asami had never really been fully alone, but there had been times she certainly felt that way.  She didn’t think Tuesday had any family; at least that was what she sensed.  Asami was familiar with the feeling of having no blood ties, but she had people surrounding her in her life that were too close to just call friends.  Asami found herself wanting to give Tuesday that, somehow, and she was sure her wife felt the same way.

She heard the shower turn off and glanced at her watch.  Seven minutes, like clockwork.  She hopped off the bed in one quick movement and went to the closet to lay out something for the evening’s events.  She settled on a black pencil skirt and a sleeveless maroon top.  She grinned mischievously as she pulled a black garter belt and black stockings out of her armoire.  Killing two birds with one stone, she had somewhere to stash her flask and a way to drive her woman the good kind of mad.

She stretched before pulling off her clothes and tossing them into the laundry basket.  She grabbed a thin robe from the back of the closet door and wrapped it around herself and walked back into the main room.  Korra was standing on the other side of the door, naked as the day she was born.  Asami swooned.  She couldn’t help but notice how the cold shower had left Korra’s nipples budded.  She closed her eyes, shook her head and exhaled. 

“Korra.  Mmm.”  Asami couldn’t form words.

“Don’t worry, Babe, I’m just coming in to grab clothes, then I won’t be such a distraction.”  She winked as she skipped past her.

Asami practically ran to the bathroom and turned on the shower.  She set the water to cold.

* * *

 

Korra dressed herself in white linen slacks and a sleeveless blue tunic.  She tugged on clean arm coverings and grabbed a brush off the vanity and ran it through her dark chocolate bob.  She was home, so that meant she was going barefoot.

After calming herself down with the cold shower, Korra’s thoughts went back to Tuesday and everything Avalon had said to them in the Spirit world.  She cringed a little as she thought of how she would have felt if this had been presented to her four or five years ago.  As hard as her life had been, for all the fights she had lost she had gotten up just as many times.  She was thankful for those experiences as they made her who she was today… someone who could put herself in someone else’s shoes.  She felt confident about being able to help Tuesday.

_It’s been about half an hour_ , Korra thought to herself.  _I’ll go see how she’s holding up_.

But then, on her way to the door, someone knocked.

Korra grinned.  It was only a matter of time.  She was amazed they’d been left alone as long as they had.  She turned the doorknob as Asami walked out of the bathroom in her robe, her towel on her hair.  Considering this, she cracked the door just a bit to see who was on the other side.

As soon as she saw it was her mother, she opened the door wider and jumped into a hug.  Senna laughed softly and tightly hugged her daughter back.  She took one hand and tucked a tuft of Korra’s hair back behind her ear so she could kiss her cheek.

“Hello, my darlings.  It’s so good to see you both.  You were quiet coming in!  We wouldn’t have known you two were home if Ikki hadn’t run through the banquet room telling us so before she was quickly chased out by Meelo.”

Korra chuckled as she pulled away from her mother’s embrace.  Asami took her place in Senna’s arms.  Senna gave her a kiss on the cheek as well and Asami beamed and hugged her mother-in-law tighter. 

“Yeah, about that.  We have a guest.  I was actually about to go check on her.  We’ll explain everything later.  I’m not sure if she’s well enough to come meet everyone just yet,” Korra explained.

Senna’s maternal instincts kicked in and her smile transformed into a frown.  “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No, Mom, it’s okay.  We’ve got it covered.  Can we meet you downstairs in a few minutes?  Will you let everyone know we’re coming?” Asami asked politely.

She kissed both women’s foreheads before turning.  “Sure thing, dears.”

* * *

 

Tuesday heard a tap at her door, followed by a kind voice.

“Hey, Tuesday, can I come in?”

Her tear-stained face lifted off the bed she had collapsed onto earlier.  She pulled herself up and wiped her eyes and sniffled.  She pulled her hair into her hands and smoothed it out.  She pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them as she perched on the edge of the bed.  “Yes.”

She watched as Korra slipped into the room and shut the door behind her.  As she turned back towards her those piercing ocean blue eyes looked at her in concern.  Korra took the ottoman from in front of the armchair in which she had previously sat and parked it in front of where Tuesday was on the bed.  She climbed onto it and sat cross-legged.

“How are you feeling?” Korra asked tentatively.

Tuesday placed her forehead on her knees.  “Ashamed.  I feel like such a pain.  I’m used to being alone and being able to break down whenever I need to without being a problem to anyone else.  You two have been nothing but kind and hospitable and I’m making as ass out of myself.”

Korra chuckled quietly.  Tuesday looked up to see a knowing look on her face. 

“Let me tell you, I’m an expert at making an ass out of myself, and that’s not what you’re doing.  You’re freaking out a little bit, and given what we’ve learned today, your feelings are valid and completely understandable.  We’re shocked at everything too, but one thing we’ve learned is when the spirits talk, we listen.  I know you’re not sure what your purpose here is, and none of us are really sure where this road will lead us, but we have a good feeling about it, and we want you to, also.”  Korra smiled at Tuesday and tilted her head a little to the side.  “Asami and I understand it may take a while for us to get to know you, because we want you to be comfortable with us.  We do feel the more we know about you, the more we can help you.”

Tuesday thought back to a little while ago, when she’d had her panic attack.  As usual, it came out of nowhere.  She had been feeling wonderful then the foundation gave out from under her… such a metaphor for her life.

She sighed.  “I agree with you.  I just think this is going to take some time.  I’m going to find a way to support myself within the next couple of days, because I don’t want to wear out my welcome.  Now I know what you’re going to say…” she interrupted Korra as she began to resist, “…but I’ll still come around, I promise.  You guys are newlyweds and should have your house to yourselves.  I wouldn’t dare impede on that.”

_So considerate_ , Korra thought.

A gentle knock came from the door.  The door cracked open the tiniest bit.  “May I join you ladies?”  Asami asked quietly.

“Of course,” Tuesday replied with a small smile. 

When Asami entered the room, Korra and Tuesday couldn’t help but stare.  Tuesday closed her mouth when she realized her jaw was on the floor and glanced at Korra.  The bender licked her lips and her cheeks turned pink.  She looked like she was holding her breath.

Tuesday shifted her eyes to get a look at Asami.  Her green eyes swam with emotion as her face flushed its own shade of pink.  The look and smile she gave Korra made Tuesday melt.

It had been a long time since anyone looked at her that way.

Asami tore her gaze from her wife and it landed on Tuesday.  Her eyes dropped in embarrassment as she said, “I’m really sorry for scaring you before.  I should have asked before I touched you.  I feel horrible.”

Tuesday smiled at the genuine apology.  “Please, Asami, don’t be.  How could you have known about that?  Do not for another second feel bad about it, okay?”

Asami sat in Korra’s lap and wrapped her arms her wife.  She looked at Tuesday and nodded.  “I’ll still probably feel bad for a little while, but I’ll get over it.”  She gave Tuesday a small smile.

“So I think you should stay here and relax while we’re downstairs.  You were so pale before; I think meeting our clan would be just a little too much.  Please don’t think I think you’re incapable of handling it, I just… want to look out for you,” Korra admitted sheepishly.  She looked at Asami.  “We’ll have some food sent up on a cart.  There are towels in the cabinet in the en suite over there,” Korra pointed, “so please make yourself at home.  This room has a pretty sweet balcony overlooking the front grounds of the estate, too, if you’d like some fresh air.  We,” she gave her wife a single kiss on her jaw line, “must make our appearance downstairs before more people start getting antsy.  My mother’s already been up to check on us,” Korra explained.

“You guys go, and thank you, again… I really can’t say it enough,” Tuesday said. 

Asami hopped off Korra’s lap and Korra stood, grabbing her wife’s hand.  “You’re most welcome.  Is it okay if we look in on you later?”  Asami inquired.

Tuesday gave them a small smile as she answered.  “Yeah, I’d like that.”


	4. The Proposal and The Roof

The doors to the banquet hall slid open as the newlyweds made their first post-honeymoon appearance to their family.  Everyone turned to face them; there were so many smiles, even scattered cheers.  Korra bowed and waved her hand like the huge dork she was, and Opal ran to Asami to give her a hug.  Bolin made his way over to Korra and lifted her up into the air.

“Man, is it great to see you guys!  I thought we were going to have come looking for you!”

“Bo,” Korra squealed, “We _told_ you we’d be gone two weeks.  We were gone two weeks.”

He hugged his best friend close as he whispered into her ear, “I know… Just… I’ve been a flipping mess.  I’m going to do it tonight; I can’t wait any longer.  I want to make sure that it’s okay with you and Asami.  I’m not trying to steal anyone’s thunder.  This is your homecoming shindig, after all.”

Asami and Opal started to make their way over, so Korra quickly said, “Yes!  Oh my spirits!  I’ll pull Opal away, you confirm with Asami!”

They pulled apart and Korra grabbed Opal in a tight hug.  “Hey, Opal.  We missed you!  Have you been keeping Bo in line?  Come with me while I go hug your mom and annoy your aunt!”

Bolin grinned as his suave buddy pulled the love of his life away towards her family.  He watched Opal’s face and sighed as she laughed at Korra’s quirks.  He loved how their eyes were two different shades of green, but they still both had green eyes, and their kids would probably have green eyes, but would they look like his, or hers, or some shade of green in between?  She…

Asami cleared her throat.

“Oh, Asami, I’m sorry, you know how I get to daydreaming when I look at her,” Bolin ruffled the back of his hair with his hands.

She thumped him on the back once she pulled him close to her.  Bolin was like her little brother.  “Bo, don’t sweat it.”

“Ok good, so… I’m gonna do it tonight, but I want to be respectful and make sure it’s okay with you first.”

Asami’s grin stretched from ear to ear.  “Spirits, Bo!  Do it!  By the way, that was a classic Korra gets Opal out of the way so you can talk to Asami move back there.  I imagine she’s pumped about it too?”

“Yeah.”  Bolin turned a shade paler.  “Oh man, this is really happening.  What the f…”

“I’m interrupting so I can hug Asami.”

Ah, Mako.  Faithfully direct and to the point.

Asami hugged their dear, somewhat socially awkward friend.  “Hey!  Good to see you.  Glad to see both you and Lin could get away from the station.”

“Oh, you know, deep down she’s a sucker for you guys.  And the Kya thing certainly has her… chi… more aligned,” Mako confessed with a sly grin.

Asami pulled Mako into a corner and inconspicuously removed her flask from her hip.  She twisted open the top and took a swig before offering it to Mako.  He graciously accepted and lifted it in cheers.  He took a generous swig.

“Ah, that’s my firewhiskey.  I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

“Enjoying what?”

Lin Beifong’s steely voice joined the conversation.

Mako offered her the flask she had made.  A hint of a smile tugged at her lips and she shook her head.  She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her own black and grey model. 

“So, Sato, what’s this I hear about some strange girl upstairs?” Lin interrogated.

“Spirits, news travels fast.  Korra tell you?” Asami responded.

“She pulled me aside with Kya and Tenzin and said she needed to speak with us.  She said we didn’t have anything to worry about but I’d feel better if I hear it from you, too,” Lin expressed.

Asami pulled Lin into a side hug.  “Yeah, let’s get everyone together.  We may as well explain everything to everyone all at once.  Her name is Tuesday, and she’s going to be here for a little while, at least.”  The three of them walked together to meet the crowd starting to seat themselves at the table.  “It’s been a _very_ interesting day.”

* * *

 

It took a few minutes for the crowd to settle down, and it wasn’t until Tenzin stood beside his seat did the murmuring stop altogether.  He raised his glass and nodded towards the newlyweds.  He cleared his throat and boomed, “Asami, Korra, it’s wonderful to have you back.  Over the last three years you have rebuilt and restructured Republic City, helped bring peace and democracy to the Earth Kingdom, and continued to bring newly discovered air benders to Air Temple Island.  You have maintained peace and balance amongst the people of the world as well as between our world and the Spirit world.  You both worked tirelessly, selflessly, and diligently.  You were both in the height of your youth, just starting to understand what your love for each other meant, yet you had so little time to spend with each other, let alone anyone else on a personal level.  I speak for us all when I say thank you again, welcome home, and enjoy your much lightened work load and new marriage.”  Tenzin looked at his two honorary daughters with pride in his soul and the glistening of tears in his eyes.  “Cheers!”

“Hear, hear!” Bumi seconded.

Korra and Asami beamed and blushed as they wiped the tears from their eyes.  Looking around them… this was the life.  Everyone said their thanks and congratulations, then Korra cleared her throat and everyone respectfully quieted down. 

“Well, I’m not sure how much free time we’re actually going to have.  We met someone in the Spirit world today.  This is going to sound crazy, but…”

Korra started with the voice and the guitar.  Asami chipped in on occasion, filling in the blanks if needed.  They got a few chuckles from their family as they finished each other’s sentences on several occasions.  The room got very still when they got to the part where Avalon showed up, and Tenzin’s eyes were as wide as the moon when they recalled everything Avalon had told them.  They finished with telling everyone Tuesday was upstairs and would be meeting everyone on her own time.

“And guys, we don’t think she’s had a lot of human contact in the last couple of years.  Something happened to her.  We don’t know what yet, and we have no clue how we’re all tied together, but we’re open and willing to find out.  Hopefully we’ll be able to help her along the way,” Asami added.  “So please be conscientious of that.”

Everyone nodded respectfully.

Korra and Asami looked at one another as the room remained quiet while they processed the new information.  It was (of course) Lin who asked, “So you two trust this girl?”

“Lin, trust the spirits.  They will not lead us astray.”

Everyone’s ears perked up at the sound of Katara’s voice.  She smiled humbly as she noticed.  “Tuesday has been given her own gift by the spirits, as our Avatar was given hers.  It seems to me Tuesday needs balance in her life, as there has just been too much dark and not enough light.  We can help her work towards that.  I sense she has a purpose here, as well.  I trust not only the spirit’s words, but also the judgment of our girls.”

“Korra,” Tenzin interjected, “when she’s ready, I would like for us to enter the Spirit world.  I want to see what happens when she goes through that portal with my own eyes.  Jinora, I would appreciate if you came as well.”  His eyes found his eldest daughter, and she nodded.

“I think our best plan of action here is just take it all a day at a time.  She’s obviously recovering from something,” Asami countered.

Korra squeezed Asami’s hand.  “I’m telling you guys, when you meet her, you’ll feel it.”  Korra smiled at Katara as she felt a swell of emotion for the elderly woman.  For two lifetimes, that amazing woman had been by her side.  It brought tears to her eyes.  She hoped somehow, some way Aang could see how much love still surrounded his wife.  She hopped out of her seat to go embrace her.

“I’ve felt her the whole time.  I can practically sense her aura from down here.”  Most of the eyes in the room turned towards Jinora’s voice.  Her cheeks tinted scarlet at the rush of attention, but she took a breath and continued.  “Generally, to see an aura, I have to be looking at the person, but there are a few people whose aura I can _see_ through _feeling_.  Korra’s, Mom’s, Dad’s (Tenzin grins),” Jinora blushed and stammered, “Kai’s (Tenzin growls).  I haven’t even met Tuesday yet I can already ‘see’ her aura?  I’m definitely interested in seeing her in person.”

Korra stood behind Katara and rested her hands on the healer’s shoulders.  “Don’t worry, you guys will meet her.  But in the meantime, let’s eat!  I’m starving.”

“Nothing new there!” Jinora joked.

* * *

 

Tuesday cracked open her door and pulled a tray of food and a jug of water off the cart.  She poured some water into a glass and took it and the tray out to the terrace.  She sat in a wooden chair and ate while she watched the sun go down.

After her shower she had felt much better.  She played her harmonica for several minutes until she heard her belly grumble, so she caved in to the cart and was actually very pleased to see that it was, in fact, sashimi and seaweed rolls underneath the cloche. 

She sat there long after the sun went down.  Eventually she grabbed her guitar and brought it outside with her.  She played quietly and half-heartedly as her mind wandered.  She hoped she would be able to better handle meeting the rest of Korra and Asami’s family.  She could feel the happiness exuding from downstairs and secretly wished she was a part of it. 

Next thing she knew, there was a nose in her ear.  She turned towards the culprit and found a giant head sticking out the terrace door.

Naga whined.

“Sorry girl.  I don’t quite think you’d be comfortable out here.  I’ll come in there with you, okay?”

Naga backed herself out of the doorway as Tuesday rose.  She walked into the room and placed her guitar in its case.  She turned to Naga and ran her fingers through her thick fur.

“Thanks for coming to see me, Naga.  You’re as sweet as your mothers.”

Naga exhaled a reply.  She slowly closed her eyes as Tuesday’s rubs calmed her.  Naga collapsed on the floor in a fluffy white heap as Tuesday’s hands moved to her ears.  She closed her eyes completely, and it was only a matter of seconds before she was quietly snoring.  Tuesday grinned as she backed away, mindful not to step on Naga’s massive paws.

She walked over to where she had stored her belongings and reached into her backpack.  After a few moments of shuffling things around her hand grasped what she was looking for… a bottle of blueberry wine.  She had been saving it for a special occasion.  Tuesday considered today special, all right.

She pulled out her survival tool and pulled up the corkscrew.  The bottle opened with a pop and she grabbed her guitar and walked back out to the terrace, being careful not to wake up her company.

* * *

 

The party was starting to die down, and Tenzin and Pema wanted to get Rohan to bed.  Korra’s eyes scanned the room for Bolin.  When she found him, she saw terror and apprehension in his eyes.  She excused herself from Bumi and Suyin and nonchalantly walked over to his side.  She spoke from the corner of her mouth.  “I can see you’re terrified, but you do realize you’re running out of time if you want to do this with everyone present.”

Bolin’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.  Korra thought he was about to be sick, but then he ran his hand through his hair, straightened up his backbone, and took a deep breath.  “I love this woman.  I want this.  I can do this,” he said more to himself than to Korra.

Korra responded nonetheless.  “Come on, you _can_ do this.  You know you have nothing to be afraid of; it’s just your nerves getting the best of you.”  She put her arm around Bolin’s shoulder and squeezed.

He patted Korra’s hand on his shoulder and took another deep breath.  He reached into his pocket and closed his fingers around something he’d been carrying around for quite some time.  He slowly began to make his way to the center of the room.

Once he got there, his eyes began to scan the room for Opal.  He found her talking to Asami and Jinora.  At that moment, Asami made eye contact with him and smiled.  Korra looked on, pleased.  She watched as Asami nudged Opal and nodded towards Bolin.  Opal’s face flashed with confusion as she made her way over to him.  The moment was magical to watch.  It was almost as if she could tell something was going on without knowing what it was.  Bolin was doing a great job of hiding his nerves. 

When she was about an arm’s length away, he swept her up into an engulfing hug.  He kept his arms wrapped around her for a moment, then pulled away to settle his gaze on her face.  A confident grin crept onto his lips, and Korra knew Bolin was ready.

He cleared his throat.  “Uhh, everyone,” he said, still gazing at Opal, “if I could ask for a few minutes of your time…” he inhaled deeply.  Out of the corner of her eye, Korra could see Su’s hand fly up to cover her gasp.  She was smiling.

“I’m not very good at being serious, as you all know, and sometimes I’m a man of too many words.  But right now, while you’re all here,” he quickly glanced around the room before returning his gaze to his air bender, “I’m completely serious when I say I’m mad about this woman.  She makes me a better man, and there are a million reasons why I love her.  I don’t have many more words for this moment either, so I’d like my actions to speak for me from here.”

Bolin took Opal’s hand in his, and opened her palm.  In it he placed what he had been holding. 

It was a gorgeous oval locket and chain.  Opal gasped as she noticed the emerald and diamond set into the front of the locket. 

“I remembered you saying your favorite gem was the diamond because air is your element.  Mine being earth, I thought the emerald could represent me.  I set the stones myself.  But that’s not the coolest part,” Bolin exclaimed as he started to get excited.  “Look at the right hand side of the locket.”

Opal did as she was instructed.  “All I see is a tiny funnel.  Is there a key?” she asked, both excited and bewildered.

Bolin beamed as he answered her.  “Your airbending is the key.  The lock is unlocked when you bend air into the funnel.  Neat, huh?”

Opal held the locket flat in her left palm and made a few small motions with her right hand.  She directed a tiny wisp of air into the side of the lock, and it popped open.  Opal opened the locket, expecting it to be empty, but inside…

Bolin paused for a moment as he read the look on Opal’s face.  He grabbed the ring from inside the locket and got down on one knee.  He grasped Opal’s left hand, never breaking eye contact.  His mouth opened as he tried to form words, and it took a few tries for him to get it out, but the moment finally came.

“I’m crazy about you.  Marry me, Opal.”  His pleading eyes searched her face for his fate.

She didn’t make him wait long.  She shakily slid her finger into the ring he held steady for her and whooped, “Oh Bo, of course!” before jumping into his embrace.

The room erupted in applause.

* * *

 

Everyone had finally exited the front door or entered their guest rooms for the night, and Asami and Korra, arms entwined, slowly and clumsily made their way upstairs. 

Their cheeks were sore from grinning, their limbs tired from a long, eventful day, and their minds cloudy from Mako’s firewhiskey. 

They turned down their hall and sighed in unison at their relief to be home.  They loved being anywhere together, but there truly was no place like home.  Korra enjoyed studying the intricacies of the architecture in their home.  Gorgeous dark wood covered the floor in seamless planks, and the walls were decorated in ornate etchings and woodworking.  The ceiling in this wing was made from squares of copper sheets, and they mirrored the image of the two women turning towards Tuesday’s door.

Asami stopped at the door and raised her fist to knock.  Korra smacked into the back of her and giggled.  Instead of moving, she slinked her arms around Asami’s waist and pushed herself against her back.  Asami’s breath caught in her throat and her fist halted in midair. 

Korra smirked unseen.  She reached her own hand out and knocked gently on the door.  No answer.

“She must already be asleep.  Should we just peep in and check on her?” Asami asked.

Just then, the door made a thumping sound from inside the room.  Korra pulled Asami aside and started to enter until she recognized the sound of Naga sniffing.  Her frantic feeling gone and her face grinning, she opened the door gently to see Naga panting happily.

“Hi, girl.” Korra rubbed Naga’s cheeks.  “You keeping Tuesday company?”

“Uh, Babe.  Tuesday’s not in the bed,” Asami said with the slightest bit of alarm in her voice.  She looked in the en suite while Korra checked the closet.  They looked under the bed and out the open doors, but she wasn’t sitting on the terrace.  They looked at each other, worried, and grasped hands before walking to the edge of the railing and peering over the edge at the grounds below.

“Hey, guys.”

Korra and Asami jumped at the sound of Tuesday’s voice behind them.  They turn to look, but only see Naga in the room.

They heard an amused giggle.  “Up, ladies.  You two know better than to conform to one way of thinking.”

Korra and Asami’s eyes drifted to the roof, and there she was.  They smiled, turned to each other, and nodded.  “Mind if we join you?” Korra asked playfully.

“Not at all.  Sky is wicked from up here.”

Korra airbended Asami up firstly, and she landed gracefully into a crouch.  _My wife is a fox_ , Korra thought dreamily to herself.

Her lusty smirk must have been visible, because Asami’s voice was a little thick when she said, “Get up here, sexy.  Tuesday’s got wine and her guitar.”

Korra made her form quickly and fluidly and landed next to Tuesday.  She was sprawled back against the roof, hair folded up and serving as a pillow.  Her legs were crossed at her feet and her guitar rested against the roof, perched atop her head.  She had on a white cotton tank top and loose white sweatpants that had the word BERKLEE written in red running vertically down one leg. Her hands were folded on a narrow patch of pale skin that showed between her top and bottom.  Korra noticed for the first time that tattoos covered the majority of Tuesday’s arms and shoulders.  It was too dark to make out the details, but she was eager to see it better in the light.  Tuesday held up the bottle to Korra and smiled drunkenly.

Asami had found her spot next to Tuesday’s right side and was squinting in the dark, trying to get a better look at her tattoos.  Korra plopped on Tuesday’s left side and accepted the bottle.  She smelled the liquid in the bottle and took a swig, swished it around her mouth and swallowed.  “That’s yummy.  Gets the burn of firewhiskey out of my mouth, too.  Shame there isn’t much left,” she snickered.

Asami gave up trying to make out any details in Tuesday’s tats and lay back against the roof.  “I haven’t been up here since I was a teenager.  I forgot how much I enjoyed it.”

Korra mirrored the other two as she lay back and crossed her hands behind her head.  The moon wasn’t visible from this angle, but it didn’t matter.  The stars made up for it.

“How was the party?  I could feel the happiness all the way up here,” Tuesday spoke softly.

“It was wonderful.  Our friends Bo and Opal got engaged and we got drunk with Mako and bickered with Lin.  Perfect night… so far,” Asami answered, the thought of what the night could still bring unspoken in the back of her mind.

“Mako needs to bottle that firewhiskey.  I’m so happy drunk right now,” Korra hiccupped.  She angled towards Tuesday.  “So why are we on the roof?”

Tuesday reached up above her head and pulled down her guitar.  She reached behind her ear and pulled out her pick and gave the strings an open strum.  “To enjoy some music.”

Korra heard Asami’s sigh as Tuesday masterfully strummed and picked at the instrument.  Korra turned back towards the stars as she listened to the notes dip and peak.  When Tuesday started to sing, she could physically feel the vibration of her voice because they were so close…

_…They were so close!_

Korra made a mental note to high five Asami later.  They had perched themselves next to Tuesday and here they were literally rubbing elbows and she was doing okay!  _The alcohol may be helping_ , Korra thought, _but who cares if it’s a step in the right direction?_   She turned and tried to focus on Tuesday’s face, but it was just too dark.  She felt honored to be the first person Tuesday trusted her touch to after such a long time. 

_And it’s a new dawn_  
_It’s a new day_  
 _It’s a new life for me_  
 _And I’m feeling good_

Korra listened to the words being sung and realized the song wasn’t a sad one at all.  On the contrary, it was… kind of… hot.  She found herself lacking for a better word.  Tuesday was tapping her foot, giving beat to the song.   Korra focused dually on the lyrics of the song and the movement of Tuesday’s left hand as it slid and contorted on the neck of the guitar. 

_Stars when you shine you know how I feel_  
_Scent of the pine you know how I feel_  
 _Oh freedom is mine_

Tuesday’s voice was sultry, deep and enveloping. 

Korra started to feel antsy… almost uncomfortable.  _Wha…?  Why?_

Her skin started to tingle where it made contact with the woman beside her. 

_Time to go._

Korra jetted upwards so quickly she hit Tuesday’s hand and mumbled an incoherent apology.  Tuesday never broke cadence and winked at Korra, letting her know she understood.  She walked around Tuesday’s crossed feet and found Asami turned onto her left side facing the guitarist with her head propped up by her hand.  As Korra lay down to spoon her, her lips stretched into a lop-sided grin at the look of sheer enjoyment on her face.  Her shoulder was bouncing a little and her foot tapped alongside Tuesday’s.  Korra slid her right arm around her wife and scooted into her.  Asami took her hand and laid it gently over her heart, and Korra could feel it pounding.

_So_ , Korra thought, _Asami reacts to this music, too.  Maybe I’m not going crazy.  It’s probably just the firewhiskey._

Tuesday reminded Korra of the legends of the sirens.  Tuesday could attract hundreds of spirits to her with her voice, not to mention the effect she was having on the two women in her company.  Sailors had no chance of survival if this woman was the one singing the songs.

Tuesday finished her song with a little flourish of strings and fell silent.  Asami awkwardly adjusted so that she could clap.

“Yeah!” Asami cheered.  “Brava!  I feel like we’re getting our own little private concert.  That song was very... alluring,” she breathed.  She placed her hand atop of Korra’s as it rested on her breastbone. 

Tuesday smiled brilliantly.  Even in the dark they could tell her cheeks flushed at the compliment. 

“Thank you.  I’m stoked you guys enjoy it.  I’ve played in front of thousands of people before and let me tell you… what a rush.  I mean, it’s so humbling.  But there isn’t anything quite like playing for a few friends, either, because you share it more deeply because your connection to them is deeper.  May sound crazy, but that’s what it feels like for me.”

“Being in this moment with you two adorable lovebirds, on this roof, all of us sufficiently inebriated, it feels comfortable.  It feels like healing,” slate blue eyes met Asami’s greens as well as the blue pair poking up from behind her.  Tuesday suddenly realized how physically close she was to them, but instead of panicking she felt her wall tear away a little bit more. She surveyed the two beauties, a genuine smile forming on her lips. 

Asami’s grin got larger when she felt Korra’s smile against the nape of her neck.

“Well in that case, Encore!” Asami requested.

Tuesday glanced at the sky with a smile still playing on her lips.  She knew what she wanted to play.  Her nimble digits started to dance across the strings as her foot kept time.  She closed her eyes and sang the words she’d heard her mother sing a million times before.  She allowed herself to remember her, at least in this moment, knowing she had support next to her in the form of her two new friends if she needed it.  Emotion welled up in her chest as tears fell sideways from her eyes, but for the first time in a long time, they were bittersweet. 

_Sittin’ here resting my bones_  
_And this loneliness won’t leave me alone_  
 _It’s two thousand miles I roamed_  
 _Just to make this dock my home_  
 _Now, I’m just gonna sit at the dock of the bay_  
 _Watching the tide roll away_  
 _Oh just sittin’ on the dock of the bay_  
 _Wastin’ time_


	5. The Next Morning

Korra awoke the next morning at the sound of Asami giggling.  She pried open her eyes and gave them a few seconds to adjust before focusing on the still sleeping figure in front of her.

Asami had a tiny smile on her face and was breathing deeply and steadily.  Korra loved it when she tittered in her sleep, and once in awhile she was gifted with mumbled nonsense that at times had been so hilarious she woke her up laughing. 

Every day she woke up to this face she questioned how she got so lucky.  She knew Asami felt exactly the same way.  _That’s_ _how it feels when you’re in love_ , Korra pondered as she watched Asami dream.  _We both feel like we hit the jackpot, so we must be doing something right._

Asami’s lips twitched into a grin.  Korra beamed as Asami started to giggle.  She waited in anticipation for a comedic performance. 

“Ha ha!  Three more points for Naga!”

Korra held in her laughter as tightly as possible, afraid to mess up any possible hilarity.

“What?  No, Bo, you can’t call a foul on pantyhose!”

Korra lost it.  Her body simply couldn’t contain the outburst of laughter any longer, and Asami’s eyes flew open and groggily assessed the situation.  She smiled lazily and asked, “I was talking in my sleep again, wasn’t I?”

Korra’s shaking, doubled over figure was all that answered her.

“I can’t even remember what I was dreaming about.”

A fresh bout of cackles erupted from Korra. 

“You ass.”

Korra laughed harder.  Asami’s face stretched into a wide smile.  It was impossible for her to be irritated when she laughed like this.  It warmed Asami through to her bones.

She leaned up and grabbed Korra’s shoulder and sleepily crawled on top of her until she was pinned.  Korra stopped laughing and the look in her eyes shifted as she gazed upon her wife’s face, mere inches from her own.

Their lips met in the middle. 

Like many kisses shared between them before, this one started out lazy, tender, savoring.  Asami fully relaxed her body onto Korra’s, and like always, when her wife’s strong, scarred, loving arms enveloped her, Asami melted.  Korra’s hands found their way up her wife’s pitch black waves as she slid the tip of her tongue over her bottom lip.  A sharp intake of breath at her wife’s act forced Asami’s lips apart, and Korra took advantage of the opportunity by gently sliding her tongue in to lock with hers.  Their lips crashed further into each other’s as their tongues started dancing and their hands became idle. 

Korra’s hands left warm trails skimming across her skin as it moved over the body it knew so well.  She felt the strong woman shift her hips so they could straddle one another’s thighs.  Korra moaned into their kiss, and Asami rewarded her with one right back. 

The two pulled apart, eyes heavy-lidded and panting, lips glistening and puckered.  Korra purred, “You get me more drunk than firewhiskey,” before returning her lips to Asami’s with urgency.  She grabbed her lover’s hips and grinded into her, and she smirked into the kiss as Asami whimpered with need.  She could feel her hot, wet desire on her thigh as they moved against each other.  Korra moved her lips to just under Asami’s ear and kissed, sending a shiver down the gasping woman’s body.  She continued to plant small, nibbling kisses down her neck and across her collarbone then nipped her shoulder.  She kissed down her sternum before taking a breast in each hand and bringing them both up to her face.  Asami’s back arched, giving her better access to them.  Her eyes found her wife’s and she watched her reaction as she placed a nipple in her mouth.  Asami’s eyes fluttered shut and her hips rolled, sliding her sex harder against Korra’s thigh.

Korra couldn’t wait any longer, but then again, she never really could get very far into foreplay with Asami.  She was just too sexy and she always broke.  Her mouth went to the other breast and nibbled the tip of the nipple as she pulled it into her mouth.  She pushed her face further into the soft flesh as she rolled her tongue against it, and she let her hand make its way further down her wife’s succulent body until it found its destination.  Korra found herself whimpering as she felt how wet she’d made her.  Asami fluidly moved herself to fit against her hand.

In a rush of lust Korra’s mouth pulled off of Asami’s breast and found her lips, while her hand parted those below her belly.  She gingerly touched her lover’s swollen bud and moaned loudly when Asami reacted by pushing her body further into hers.  She started to rock her hips against her while massaging her clit, propped up on her other elbow for support, watching the pleasure take over the love of her life.  One of her wife’s hands held onto her for dear life while the other explored her skin, her scars, her breasts.  As Asami’s thumb ran over her nipple she increased her tempo, rocking her hips a little faster, pushing down a little harder, panting just a little bit more as she felt her clit get harder against Asami’s thigh.

Asami’s legs began to shake at that moment, and Korra groaned in ecstasy.  Her own orgasm began to build in her belly, and she once again passionately locked lips with her wife.  She felt the tip of Asami’s tongue push against her own and her arms wrap around her waist, pulling her deeper onto her thigh.  Korra tore her lips away with a gasp, and Asami knew her wife well enough to know what was about to happen.  She watched her wife’s face as she pulled her near.  She kissed her ear gently and whispered.

“Come with me, Korra.”

Her reaction was immediate.  A guttural moan escaped her lips as her muscles tensed, but her fingers never stopped working and her hips never stopped moving.  Asami held her in a tight embrace as their simultaneous climaxes crashed into them, just like a wave would a shore.  They rode it all the way inland, in simpatico, completely consumed in one another.

Korra collapsed her full weight onto Asami.  It took her a few moments to be able to speak.

“We’re staying here.”

“Korra.”

“All day.”

Asami laughed warmly, even though she was still trying to catch her breath.  “I love you, Korra.”

“Mmm.  Say it again.”

Asami laughed harder.  “Korra, I love you.”

Korra pulled her head up slowly to meet her wife’s gaze.  She could still feel her shaking gently beneath her from their lovemaking.  Her skin was flushed, her emerald eyes were shining, and there was so much joy on her face.  “Every time I look at you I have no clue what I did to deserve you, and this,” she nodded at their entwined bodies, “and our lives together, and our family… I’m just so incredibly lucky.”

“Korra, my love, we’re equally as lucky to have you, and not just because you’re the Avatar, but because you’re Korra,” Asami said endearingly.

“Aw, shucks,” Korra grinned.  Her eyes softened along with her smile as she peered deeply into her new wife’s eyes.  “And I love you too, Mrs. Sato.”


	6. Back Home

_Several hours earlier…_

Tuesday dropped onto the balcony and bent her knees to help absorb the force, but the impact felt minimal.  It almost seemed like she’d fallen slower than normal, like gravity here was different.  _Eh, must be the wine messing with my head._  

She padded into the room and placed her guitar in its case.  She moved with purpose as she emptied her backpack and pulled on a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a hoodie.  She shrugged the empty backpack onto her shoulders and exited the room, keeping extra quiet. 

She made it out the front gate easily enough and settled into a quick pace.  She could just make out a faint light lining the horizon. 

She found a transit stop soon enough, but kept walking as soon as she remembered she didn’t have any yuans, and she doubted there was a currency exchange here that would take her money.

_If it weren’t so early, I’d pull my harmonica out and play until I had enough money_ , she thought to herself.  _But I’d rather walk and get going than wait for the sun to come up and take an hour to make enough for fare._

The sun was starting to make shadows on the buildings as Tuesday reached the edge of the city.  She made a semi-circle and got her bearings before falling into pace once again, wanting to reach the portal as quickly as possible.

It only took her another twenty minutes to reach the Spirit Wilds.  She found the vine ladder she had shimmied up yesterday and started to descend.  She dropped from the bottom rung with an oomph and stood up. 

She stared at the huge yellow portal in all its glory.  Tuesday enjoyed looking at it with her two eyes because she knew it meant she wasn’t crazy.  It meant this was all real, this parallel world, alternate reality, whatever it was for sure, she didn’t know, she just knew she’d felt more happiness here in a day than she had in over two years in her world.  She had made friends.  She wanted to meet more people.  She wanted to open up.  Yesterday she had decided she was done running.  It was time to stop existing and start living again.

She smiled to herself and recalled Korra and Asami telling her she should do it more often.  Her grin stretched as she blushed. 

_Gods_ , she thought.  _I’m not even around them and they’re making me blush_.

She made her way over to the portal, reminiscing about last night’s mini concert on the roof with a sideways grin.  As she approached the beam of light she could feel the radiance coming from it.  She cleared her throat.  “Avalon?”

Nothing happened.  She frowned.  Then she thought.  She closed her eyes and directed her thoughts inward.  She opened herself up spiritually, and winced as she saw the shattered pieces of herself floating beside the faces of all her ghosts and skeletons.  She shuddered involuntarily, but composed herself, refusing to get sidetracked from her mission.  She cleared her mind and focused on one entity. 

_Avalon?_

She felt a strange vibration, then a subtle weight on her shoulder.  She opened her eyes and looked to her left, and there was Avalon.

She smiled.  The spirit was happily kicking its feet as it rested on her shoulder.  “Thank you for coming,” she greeted.  “Now, I have to know, are you a boy or a girl, or do you not consider yourself any gender?  Forgive my frankness, I just feel bad thinking about you as an ‘it’”.

Avalon chuckled light-heartedly.  “Many spirits are genderless, and many spirits can change genders.  Some reproduce magically or spiritually.  There are no boundaries in that aspect of our world.  But to answer your question, at this time, and for the last several hundred years, I have been a female.  Before that, I was a male for twelve hundred years.”

“May I ask why you chose to change?” Tuesday asked.

Avalon smiled.  “I wanted to answer a call I received from this world.  It was a woman, and I was drawn to her.  At the time, as I mentioned, I was male, and found that nothing I seemed to do for her helped; on the contrary, it seemed to backfire.  I meditated and came to the conclusion that I could not fully relate to her, no matter how strongly I was drawn to her, because no matter how hard a male tries, he cannot think like a woman, and vice versa.  I knew the best solution was for me to change my gender,” she explained.  “It’s an easy option, one I could switch from if I desired, and although what is in the mind doesn’t always match the physical parts of the body,” Avalon cleared her throat and Tuesday laughed, “I felt it was at least worth a chance.”

“Did it work?” Tuesday inquired.

“It did.  I was able to become a bit of a spiritual muse throughout her life.  She accomplished many things.  I like to think I helped her along the way,” Avalon continued dreamily.  “Her name was Kyoshi, and she was the Avatar.”

Tuesday’s head snapped to the side.  “Like Korra?”

“Very much so.”

“That’s so amazing.  Thank you for sharing.  I’m glad to know something about you,” she admitted to Avalon.

Avalon simply smiled and stroked Tuesday’s hair.  “Shall we enter the portal?” she asked.

“Yes, I’m ready,” she replied, and turned towards the portal.  She walked into the beam and sighed as the warmth surrounded her.  Avalon began to shine ever so slightly, Tuesday noticed.  Her vision distorted for a split second and when it cleared, Avalon appeared more corporeal.  She glanced to her side to get a glimpse of her surroundings, and they were there.  She stepped into the collection of purple and red flowers where she had first talked to Avalon.  She looked to the horizon and immediately found the pale pink beam of her portal off in the distance.

She turned to look at Avalon as she started to take long strides towards her destination.  “You know, I had planned to leave this morning before everyone left.”

Avalon replied nonchalantly.  “Isn’t that what you did?”

Tuesday grinned.  “Yes, but I originally intended to not come back.  I was still scared.  I AM still scared.  But last night Korra, Asami and I hung out on their roof and… it almost felt like I had friends again.  They’ve been so kind and I obviously can’t deny what you told me, so, I decided to stay.  I’m not going to run from everything anymore.  I’m just going back there for some things,” she explained as she nodded towards the portal.

All of a sudden the landscape began to warp.  Tuesday’s body tensed for movement, but she felt none.  Next thing she knew, they were in her favorite meadow, a stone’s throw from her tree, facing the pale pink beam.  She grinned hugely as she bent her knees and threw her fist into the air.  “Man I love that!  Makes up for the fact I took so long getting to the portal itself.”

She turned to look at Avalon, but she wasn’t there.  She heard a chuckle and turned to find Avalon behind her.  She knelt down to face the tiny spirit.  “Thank you, again.  I’ll be back within a half a day, and I’ll call you when I return.”

“It was my pleasure, Tuesday,” Avalon said.  “I will return whenever you call.”  She faded and disappeared.

Tuesday was not looking forward to the fatigue caused from the journey into this portal, but she knew having her favorite things with her would ease her transition into this new world.  She knew deep in her bones she wanted to stay in Republic City, maybe even for the rest of her life.  She had no ties holding her back home.  All she had left were her material things.  She could return if she wished to torture herself and go to the cemetery. 

It was with that thought she decided where her first stop should be.  She swallowed back tears as she walked into her portal and closed her eyes.

She was going to have nightmares tonight.

* * *

 

After several lazy minutes in each other’s arms, the newlyweds made their way into a shower, where they started to get a little sidetracked.  Asami put her foot down and jumped out of the shower before things could get too frisky, but it all fell apart about five minutes later when Korra met her in the closet and took her hand and shoved it between her legs. 

They stumbled out of the closet about twenty minutes later, fully dressed and sexually sated… for the time being.  They held hands as they exited their room and walked across the hall.  Asami reached up and knocked on Tuesday’s door.

No answer.

“Maybe she’s hung over?” Korra suggested.

Asami knocked again, but they were met with silence.  They glanced at each other worriedly and opened the door. 

“Tuesday?” Korra called.  Their eyes scanned the room, but there was no sign of the woman.  They checked the room as they had the night before, then walked out onto the balcony and checked the roof, but she was nowhere to be found.

They walked back into the room.  Asami watched as Korra’s face went from one of worry to one of relief.  She followed her gaze until she saw the object that calmed her wife.

“Well, no matter where she is, she’s definitely coming back,” Korra said as she walked over and patted the guitar case.  “Let’s go get some breakfast.”

* * *

 

 As soon as Tuesday stepped out of her portal, she fell to her knees.  She felt slightly winded. _I shouldn’t have drunk so much and slept so little_ , Tuesday thought.  She sat there, face down, catching her breath for a moment, but as soon as she looked up, she lost it again.

The horse was there.

“What?” Tuesday asked in a stupor, shaking her head in disbelief.  She scratched her head, thinking it couldn’t be the same one as before, but it was.

She had a pink nose and silver mouth with a pale grey head and neck.  The color carried onto her back but got gradually darker down her tall, muscular body until it turned black right above her hooves.  There were a few splotches of white diluting the grey on her shoulders and hindquarters, almost like it had splattered from a paintbrush onto an artist’s palette.  Her mane started off white at her poll but was the same shade as her back by the time it ended at her withers.  Her tail was long and silver, but also tangled, Tuesday noticed.

The mare just stared back at Tuesday, swishing her tail.  Tuesday grinned.  She tossed her head.

“Are you getting impatient with me, beautiful?” Tuesday smirked.

The horse stamped her foot and Tuesday giggled.  She grimaced as she got to her feet.  Just like before, the mare walked over to her right side and bowed down, nose nearly touching the ground.  Tuesday carefully grasped her mane and pulled herself onto the horse.  She stood up and shook out her mane.

“So sorry, girl,” Tuesday apologized.  The horse exhaled through her lips.  Tuesday chuckled.

“Since when is this place a fantasy world?  I can swear you understand me, and you met me at the edge of the woods and brought me here in the first place, and then you were waiting for me when I got back?  How could you even know that?”

The horse shook her head and began to trot.  Tuesday locked her legs to the horse and leaned forward, gently holding on to the horse’s mane.  She settled into the creature’s pace and spoke again.  “Is it that you can tell I grew up on horses?  Maybe you’re connected to the spirits in your own way, and you knew I was coming somehow.”  She shakes her head as she makes a realization.  “Call it what you will, but magic exists.”

The horse gave a little bounce in her trot and shook her head.  Tuesday grinned as her mane tickled her cheeks. 

Tuesday sat up a bit when she recognized the bare stretch of land through the trees in front of them, and she leaned down to pet the horse’s neck.  “This is where you met me last time,” she remembered.  Tuesday leaned forward and grinned mischievously.  “Wanna gun it?”

The mare nodded.  Tuesday locked into place.  “Go,” she whispered.

The beauty took off, and boy, was she fast.  Tuesday knew she would be dripping with horse sweat as a result of running this horse with no saddle, but she just didn’t care.  It had been years since she’d ridden at a full gallop, and she felt her heart soaring.  The creature carrying her seemed to feel her elation and elongated her strides, carrying them across the plain within a few minutes.  It had taken Tuesday nearly an hour to walk across it when she first followed the pale beam in the sky just over a week ago. 

They approached a dense ring of pines that Tuesday also recognized.  They were at the edge of her property.  Her carrier started forward, but she balked as Tuesday spoke, “I’d like to go to the right from here, if it’s okay with you.  If you wish, I could get off and walk.”

The horse quietly turned to the right and started trotting.  She angled into the trees as if she knew where she was going.  Only a few minutes had passed when they reached the edge of the tree line.  They walked alongside the iron fence of the Smithson family cemetery.

Tuesday didn’t look as the horse brought her around to the gate.  She didn’t look as she slid down from the kind creature that had carried her here.  She didn’t look as she moved through the gate with familiarity.  She didn’t look as she navigated through the headstones.  She didn’t look until she reached the northeast corner, and like always, there they were.  Like always, because their headstones were never going to move, just like the bones below them.

A guttural sob burst from her chest as she crumbled to the ground and wept.

* * *

 

Asami was standing in the kitchen nursing a cup of tea, looking out the window towards the front gate.  It had been over four hours since she and Korra had noticed Tuesday was gone. 

She felt warm arms slide around her waist and a familiar body press up against her back.  “Worried about Tuesday?” her wife asked from behind her.

Asami nodded.  “I mean, I know she left her things, but do you think she’s coming back, or got hurt or something?”

She felt Korra shake her head.  “I definitely think she’s coming back.  As for getting hurt, I don’t know.  I’m a little concerned, too,” she admitted.

Asami slid her hand over her wife’s arm and came to a stop at her hand.  Her brow furrowed as she bit her lip.  “Let’s drive to the portal, see if we find her anywhere.  Do you think that’s too much?” she questioned.  She felt Korra pull away and turned to face her. 

“No, let’s do it.  We’ll meet Tenzin and Jinora on the way and take them with us to her portal.  If that’s where she went, maybe we can catch her coming through,” Korra said. 

“You radio Tenzin, I’ll go get the car.”  She grabbed the shorter woman and planted a kiss on her lips.  “See you in a few minutes.”  Korra turned and headed for the office.

Asami ran to the closet next to the foyer and grabbed her light driving jacket.  She adjusted her collar as she closed the door behind her and turned the corner into the foyer.  She reached up onto the key rack and grabbed the set for the convertible.  She pulled open the front door and made her way down the front steps.  She looked up and set her direction towards where they had left the car in the driveway yesterday. 

She pulled her hair from between her blouse and her jacket and shook it out.  She heard a wolf whistle and looked around for its source.  Not seeing anyone, she recalled the night before when they found Tuesday on the roof.  She set her sights higher and saw Korra gawking at her, sitting on the railing outside the study window.  She jumped and airbended herself into a gentle landing.  She jogged over to the car and jumped into the passenger seat.  She propped her arm up on the door and gave Asami a dazzling smile. 

“Hey there,” she purred.  “This seat taken?”

Asami couldn’t help but erupt into giggles.  Korra waggled her eyebrows and Asami doubled over in laughter on her way to the driver’s seat.  Once she had settled in, she leaned over and grabbed her wife.  She slid across the seat as Asami pulled her close and embraced her.  “You’re such a dork.  Thank you for making me laugh all the time.”  She placed her lips on Korra’s cheek, right next to her ear.  “I love you so incredibly much,” she whispered.  She pulled back to look into her wife’s… _wife’s!_... ocean blue eyes, the ones she could swim in all day.  Just the faintest sheen of tears coated them as she smiled.  Korra blinked a few times to usher them away and angled her lips up to kiss her on the forehead. 

“I hope you never get tired of saying that, because I’m never going to get tired of hearing it,” Korra confessed.

* * *

 

Tenzin and Jinora were sitting on Oogi, waiting patiently for them when they pulled up at the ferry dock.

“Why’d you bring Oogi?” Korra asked.

Tenzin grabs his beard.  “I figured we could ride him all the way in.”  He shrugged.  “We’ll make better time for sure.”

“He doesn’t want to admit how curious and impatient he is,” Jinora laughed.  Tenzin turned to glare at his eldest as his head turned the same red as his robes.  Jinora chortled harder while Korra and Asami snickered into their hands. 

He turned and grasped the reins and sighed as he admitted, “Can you blame me?  No one has ever heard of something like this, at least not that I have ever learned.  And you’re just as curious!”

“I know.  It’s true, I really am.  And I’m just baffled the portal can’t be seen,” she shook her head.

“Well,” Korra chimed in, “We may be completely wrong about where she’s gone.  She said something yesterday about trying to find a way to support herself,” Korra recalled.

“Oogi gives us a bird’s eye view.  Let’s start looking,” Tenzin says.  “I’m still starting with the Spirit World.”

Korra swept Asami into her arms and planted a chaste but tender kiss on her lips before airbending them up onto the air bison’s saddle.  They settled across from Jinora as Tenzin gave Oogi a “yip yip” and he took off.

“I have a feeling that’s where we’ll find her,” Asami said.


	7. A Small Merging

The cemetery was a time trap.  Every time she went, she could never recall how long she stayed.  She’d thought to check the time before going in, but as soon as she was near she didn’t think about anything except for why she was there. 

For the first time in a very long time, however, she was actually a bit upset with herself for staying as long as she did.  She didn’t regret going, no, she’s glad she went, but she didn’t want to worry her new friends nor did she want to be rude by being gone forever.

When Tuesday came out of what she called her “mourning stupor”, she was surprised to find the mare grazing in the backyard.  _Further affirmations I’m not going crazy.  This is insane._

_I’m rolling with it._

Tuesday put her fingers in her mouth and whistled.  The mare whinnied and trotted over while tossing her head.  Tuesday chuckled as she ran her fingers through her friend’s mane.  “Giving me more sass, aren’t you, girl?”  She met eyes with the creature, believing more than ever that she could understand her.  “Mind if I catch a ride up to the house now?”

The mare turned and trotted off towards the house.  Tuesday’s face twisted into one of disbelief.  “Really?” she yelled to the horse.

The mare stopped and looked at her, then reared and turned and cantered back to her, heehawing the whole way.  Tuesday stood there, dumbfounded.

“You were totally fucking with me.”

The mare tossed her head in apparent laughter before leaning down for Tuesday to climb on.  _I love this horse,_ Tuesday thought with a laugh as the horse upped and headed for the house.

“I wish I knew your name,” Tuesday murmured to her as they came around a corner of trees and entered three acres of overgrown field.  She remembered back to her childhood when it was an apiary and clover grew there.  The memory turned her head to the right and she spotted the beehives on the other side of the field.  She shuddered as she thought back to one of the reasons her father had to stop beekeeping, and her hand automatically felt for the EpiPen in the side pocket of her backpack.

At the time she was six years old.  Four years she had tended to the bees and the clover with her father.  Four years, never one sting.  Then one day one got in between her glove and her sleeve and it happened.  She nearly died.

She shook away the memory as they approached the back porch of her house.  Her parent’s house.  Whatever.  At this point she just wanted to get some things and get back to Republic City. 

She slid down and patted the horse’s neck before making her way up the steps and pulling out her keys.  The key slid into the lock fluidly and the door creaked open.  She sighed as she walked into the kitchen. 

This place used to be so happy, so noisy, so full of love, but now she was the only person that ever walked through the door.  It sent a stab of pain down the center of her body and she inhaled with a shudder.  Her arms crossed over her torso and she hugged herself as if trying to hold in all the broken pieces of herself.  _No more tears_ , she thought.  _You’re already going to have to explain your puffy eyes._

She made quick work of gathering what she needed.  She stopped at the linen closet and grabbed a blanket for the horse, then went to her room and changed her jeans.  She opened the closet door and pulled a Bruins duffel bag off the floor and set to work filling it with various articles of clothing and shoes, even though she was sure she was going to have to go shopping anyway because her fashion might raise too many questions where she was headed.

When the bag was fully loaded and zipped, she shrugged off her backpack and went to her bookshelf.  She pulled a few favorites and stuffed them into the bag.  She snapped her fingers as she remembered something and opened a drawer next to her bedside table.  She grabbed a wooden box and two lighters, stuffing the latter in her pocket and carefully placing the former in the backpack.  She grabbed her iPod and charger, shrugging as she mumbled to herself, “I’m sure Asami could modify the charger if need be…”

She froze in her tracks when she saw her photo album.  Her hand reached for it, but stopped halfway there.  _No more running,_ she told herself, and she grabbed the book and shoved it in her backpack, along with the stuffed unicorn next to it. 

Tuesday hastily glanced around her room to see if she’d forgotten anything before pulling the backpack over one shoulder and grabbing the duffel bag and exiting the room.  She turned the corner into the bathroom and opened a drawer next to the sink.  She pulled the backpack off her shoulder and tossed in some hair ties, a new tube of toothpaste and two more EpiPens into a pocket.  There was no telling what sort of insects were flying around Republic City.

Stopping in the kitchen, she filled another pocket with chocolate, trail mix, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for the trip back home.  She hadn’t eaten since having the delectable sashimi the night before.  _Jelly_.  That reminded her…

She went down into the basement and grabbed two bottles of blueberry wine from the inlaid wine shelves.  This gave her an idea and she made a mental note to stop in the study before leaving.  She slid the bottles into the backpack and turned to the opposite wall.  Instead of wine bottles, these shelves held mason jars.  She pulled two from the shelf and bolted up the basement stairs. 

She grabbed a tea towel from the kitchen and carefully wrapped the jars before placing them in the backpack.  _Now’s the hard part_ , she thought as her feet lead her into the music room.  _I can’t bring it all.  This horse is gonna want to kill me as it is._

Her eyes immediately went to the case that held her metallic green Les Paul.  _That’s coming, although… hmm… there’s got to be amps in Republic City, and so long as I have the cords I’m sure I could figure it out._

She walked over and grabbed the case then stopped by her drum kit to grab her favorite sticks off the snare.  She put them in her back pocket and placed the guitar by the door.  She spun around on her heel and tapped her chin as she pondered.  She knew this new world had electricity and plugs, but had no clue if her things would work there or not.  She threw her hands up in the air is if to surrender and walked over to the case that held her bass.  In a space next to her case sat another, and though Tuesday acknowledged its presence, she refused to look directly at it.  She looped her fingers around the handle of her case and hurried out of the room.

After Tuesday had collected everything going with her by the front door, she dashed to the study and opened the bar.  She sifted through the bottles until she found the two she was looking for.  After wrapping them, they went into the backpack next to the wine.  “We are gonna get so sloshed,” she laughed.  She lifted the now heavy backpack onto her back and halted as she took a second look at what she’d packed. 

_There’s no way I can ask that kind creature to carry all this, nor can I haul all this back by myself_ , she thought, defeated.  _I’m going to have to make another trip soon._

She carried the bass back to the music room, but propped it right inside the door.  “I’ll be back, Waldorf.”

* * *

 

The mare stuck her tongue out at her when she saw the duffel and guitar case, but she didn’t budge when Tuesday giggled and gently tossed the blanket onto her back.  “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t want to help me.  I hope you know how much I appreciate all of this.”

She pawed the ground and whinnied before kneeling down to grant Tuesday access.  She situated the duffel bag across her equine friend’s withers and climbed behind it.  She grabbed the case and laid it on top of the duffel and held on as the strong creature lifted them.  “Thank you, girl,” Tuesday whispered as she draped herself across her belongings and nodded off.


	8. Searching

“There it is,” Asami pointed.  “Over that hill and just to the right.”

She, Jinora, and Korra watched as Tenzin directed Oogi towards the meadow where they met Tuesday.  Korra strained her eyes, but she still could not see the portal.

Oogi landed softly in the meadow and his passengers climbed down to walk around.  Korra immediately walked over to where she had seen Tuesday disappear and reappear and pointed it out to Tenzin.  “It’s here, somewhere.”  She turned to look at Jinora.  “Can you sense anything?”

Jinora’s face held a look of perplexity.  “It’s so strange,” she said.  “I can’t see the portal, but I can see _around_ the portal, almost like there’s a shimmering around that one area.”  She pointed just to the left of where Korra was standing.  “Korra, come see if you can see what I do now that you know what you’re looking for.”

Korra moved to stand next to Jinora and set her line of vision to follow her friend’s finger.  Sure enough, now knowing what to look for, she saw the faint pink haze surrounding an invisible line.  It was thinner than the Republic City portal, though Korra knew that didn’t necessarily mean anything. 

Tenzin and Asami had found their way over to where Korra and Jinora stood and focused their sights in the same direction.  Korra heard Asami gasp behind her as she proclaimed, “I see it… well, the lack of it,” and Jinora giggled.  She saw a look of intrigue wash over her father’s face as he too saw it. 

“Amazing,” he muttered.  He walked over to where his eyesight had just been, but felt or saw nothing.  “How incredibly peculiar.”

Jinora joined her father, and Korra took the moment to turn to Asami.  “Do you think she’s in there?  Part of me wants to go look downtown for her, but I don’t want us to miss her if she comes out of the portal.”

Asami bit her lip as she assessed the situation.  “Let’s split up.  You stay here while Tenzin takes Jinora and me back to the car on Oogi, then he can join you to wait while she and I ride around to see if she can pick up on Tuesday’s energy at all.”

Korra leaned up quickly and kissed her wife’s forehead.  “That’s why you’re the brains of this operation,” she crooned as she gave her wife a sultry grin.  She placed her hand to her wife’s flawless cheek for a moment before turning to share the plan with the rest of their party.

Asami called after her, smitten.  “If I’m the brains, what does that make you?”

Korra spun around fluidly and flexed her biceps as she lifted one eyebrow.  “The brawn, of course.” 

Asami couldn’t help but chuckle at her wife’s goofy expression, but then her eyes drifted to comb the lines of her muscles instead.  She sucked in a breath as her body registered what her eyes were viewing, and she had to close her eyes and shake away her wandering thoughts.

When they reopened, she found Korra blushing slightly and giving her a lop-sided grin as she turned back to face Jinora.  Asami watched as they listened to the plan, and smiled when Tenzin’s hand moved to his beard and Jinora nodded.  The three of them turned and started to walk back towards her, and she walked the rest of the way back to Oogi, but waited to board him so that she may kiss her wife goodbye.

Which happened to be her LEAST favorite thing in the universe, but it was a necessary evil.  Still, Asami couldn’t help but worry every time they had to part.  Her wife was the Avatar.  She’d be a fool not to be realistic.  But she was also confident… confident in Korra, confident in the Avatar, and confident in herself and their family.  And that’s what got her through these partings.

Korra’s arms wrapped around her at that moment, and Asami sighed as she returned the embrace.  After a few heartbeats of gently squeezing each other and saying their ‘I love you’s’ they pulled apart and said it with their eyes, just like they did the night they walked into the Republic city portal for the first time.

“Be careful,” Korra whispered, and then she watched as her wife shimmied up into Oogi’s saddle.  Tenzin and Jinora followed with two quick bursts of air.

Once Tenzin had settled, he turned to face Korra. “I’ll be back shortly.  Yip yip.”

After she watched them disappear over the top of the hill, she returned her focus to the portal.  There were a few ideas that had crossed her mind that she was curious to try.

She slowly approached the area she could see that wasn’t covered in a thin pink veil of haze.  Once she felt she was standing in the place Tuesday came through, she closed her eyes and began to meditate.

Instead of going inward, she reached out cosmically, as she did that day in the Tree of Time during Harmonic Convergence.  After several minutes, she sighed.  Nothing. 

She went into the Avatar state.  Nothing.

She sat down and closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and began to descend within herself. 

Korra sat for a long while without sensing or seeing anything, and her conscious mind tugged at surrendering to the fact that she could not connect with this portal.  Then slowly, as if a picture was developing like a photo in her mind, Korra began to see what looked like a moderately dense cluster of trees, trees she could not place as any she’d ever seen anywhere before.  In her vision she did a three-sixty, but the woods were all that surrounded her. 

_Am I seeing Tuesday’s world?_

She tried to move forward into the woods with her mind, but she could not move.  She was incapable of projecting herself into it.  Korra maintained her focus on the view of the woods while deciding she would stay put and watch for Tuesday until Tenzin returned.

* * *

 

Jinora and Asami waved goodbye to Tenzin as he took off with Oogi back to the portal.  Asami slid into the driver’s seat as Jinora hopped into the front.  “Can you sense Tuesday at all right now?” Asami asked as she started the car.

“Not exactly, but it’s like… there’s a lingering of her.  Does that make sense?” Jinora inquired.

“Complete sense.  Can you pick up on Korra like that?”

Jinora closed her eyes.  “Yes.  And it’s stronger.  And… focusing on Dad, it’s stronger than Korra’s.  That makes sense.  It’s like the longer they’re gone from around me, that specific type of connection gets weaker.”

“Well,” Asami stated as she turned down one of the busiest streets in the city, “We may as well drive around to see if you feel anything.  There’s a lot of gainful employment on this street alone, so if she’s looking for work, she may be here.”  Asami didn’t admit it to Jinora, but she didn’t think she was here at all.  She felt such a strange attachment to Tuesday, she just knew she went back to her world.  Asami was just concerned their new friend would decide to stay there instead of come back. 

They approached the end of the street having seen no sign of Tuesday, so Asami turned left, then left again at the next block to keep a running grid.  They eased down the street, Asami scouring the streets and Jinora concentrating.  Asami turned to look at her young friend as they drove.

“So how’s Kai?  We were sad he couldn’t make it last night,” Asami started.

Jinora’s eyes stayed shut.  “ _He’s_ sad he couldn’t make it, but considering how few gigs there are he takes them when he can.  He says the entertainment in the city is in a lull.  I tell him he doesn’t need to work, but you know Kai… he likes money.  I’m just glad he earns his keep now,” Jinora giggled and opened her eyes.  “Besides, he loves doing it.  He’s the only person working for Ryoh now, so he’s doing sound _and_ lights, and any time Lin has to hold a press conference, she hires him to wire the podium and everything.  I guess the last sound guy she had kept making her echo too much,” she ended the sentence with a snicker.

Asami laughed out loud and smacked her hand against the wheel.  Now that was funny to picture.  “Well that’s good for him then.  I think you’re lucky if you’re able to sustain your life the way you want doing something you love.  I may work a lot, but it obviously has its rewards, and loving what I’m doing is the best one.” 

“I’m very happy for him, though it does mean we’re spending a little less time together.”  She got quiet, and Asami looked over to find a frown on the girl’s face.

“Aw, Jinora, that’s going to happen, especially as you take on more responsibilities.  Look at your Dad.  Someday that’ll be your job, and you’ll have to leave Republic City sometimes,” Asami sympathized.

Jinora shook her head, “No, no, it’s not that.  We handle being apart fine.  Our connection is so close I just project myself to see him if I’m worried about him or miss him terribly.  He’s never really very far, anyway.”

“So… would you like to talk about why you were frowning?” Asami asked delicately as she turned down another street.  She heard the young woman next to her inhale deeply.

“Kai is turning eighteen soon.  I… I have a gift in mind, but I think I should,” she exhaled, “talk to someone first.” Asami saw her young friend turn to look at her in her peripheral vision so she glanced over to meet her eyes for a moment before turning back to face the road.  There was a plethora of emotions acting out a play on Jinora’s face.  Asami nodded for her to continue.

Jinora added, “I was happy to get away with you today; I’ll admit going on this side mission was a little selfishly motivated.  I was going to grab either you or Korra or both as soon as I had a moment alone with either of you or both of you…”

Asami smiled warmly as Jinora rambled.  “Sweetie, you don’t need to feel nervous.  I have a feeling I know what this is about,” she glanced at Jinora to search her face again, then returned her eyes to the road.  “Does this have to do with intimacy?”

Asami could see her face turn red out of the corner of her eye.  Her mouth opened then closed.  She inhaled.  “Yes.  I thought… for his birthday…”

“…that you could be the gift?” Asami chimed in, her grin a wide stretch.  She was happy to hear Jinora laugh beside her.

“Um, yes, more or less.  He and I… we’ve not… we almost have so many times but I always stop, and he’s just been infinitely patient and kind with me.  I’ve made sure he knows it’s not because I don’t want to.  But now, it’s gotten to the point I can’t kiss him without going crazy, and he’s just so handsome, ugh… and I love him, but most importantly he shows me he loves me.  So, um, yeah.” 

“I’m not quite sure what you need me for.  It sounds like you’ve thought everything out, and your line of reasoning sounds legit to me,” Asami said.

“Well, the advice I need is… I want to tell Mom.  I like to be open with my parents about everything, but this is a little different.  I know I can’t tell Dad, and I’m a little concerned Mom might think I’m too young.  But I feel not telling at least her is being dishonest by evasion.  And, I want her to help me with what I need to make sure… nothing… there’s no babies,” Jinora admitted awkwardly. 

This was easy for Asami to answer.  “Jinora, you lucked out with parents, and your mother is something truly special.  You can totally trust her with this, and I’m sure even if she feels you’re too young, she remembers what it was like to be young and in love and will just guide you instead of telling you what to do.  She knows you’re basically a grown woman, and that you’ve always been mature for your age, and she’s always treated you as such.  I think it’ll please her beyond measure for you to go to her with something so deeply important.”

“Wow.  Thank you.  I should talk to you more often.  You made that very easy for me because of how so very right you are in what you said,” Jinora said, and her voice was full of gratitude.

“It was my pleasure.  You do know I’m totally spilling the beans to Korra though, right?”

“Of course, and you have my full permission,” Jinora beamed.  Just then, Asami saw as she leaned forward in her seat and sniffed the air.  “Something smells _SO GOOD_ ,” she started craning her neck in search of its source. 

They’d almost driven to the edge of town, and Asami is the first to see the little shop.  She read the sidewalk sign out loud.  “Welcome to Li’s!  Noodles, soup, and bread made fresh daily!  Wow, I can’t believe I’ve never noticed this place before.  It must be new,” she decided.  “We’ll have to come back and try some of that bread, but for now,” she looked at Jinora, “Any sign of Tuesday?”

“Nope, and her aura feels much more dispersed than before.”

Asami made up her mind.  “Let’s go back to the spirit portal.  I’m convinced she went home.”

“To stay?” Jinora asked, concerned.

Asami answered her friend, her voice barely audible over the sounds of the city.  “I hope not.”


	9. Finding

Tuesday woke up when her nightmare ended. 

The mare had brought her back to the portal and had been standing there with her for Spirits knows how long, allowing her to sleep.  _What a selfless animal_ , she thought, as she tried to calm her erratic heartbeat.  She gulped in a few breaths and steadied herself before dismounting the horse.  She walked around to her front and opened her arms to hug the creature.  It was the first time in nearly two years she’d held anything so close.  She tensed when she felt the horse’s head rest against her back, but she quickly relaxed and ran her fingers through the long mane.  “I wish you could come with me,” she said as she pulled away.  A few tears threatened to escape her eyes as she walked around to pull down her belongings.

“I’ll come back to see you.  I hope you’ll know when I’m coming.”  She patted the mare’s neck and sighed as she turned to walk away.  She’d only gone a few steps when she heard the familiar sound of hooves hitting the ground behind her.  She looked over her shoulder and discovered she was being followed.  It made her tear up again.

“Oh, girl, I’m so sorry.”

The horse walked up behind her and nudged her with her nose.  Tuesday shrugged and figured maybe she just wanted to walk the rest of the distance with her, so she humored the mare and turned to walk into the portal. 

She felt a rush of excitement as she thought about getting back to Korra and Asami, and she hoped they’d forgive her for being gone so long.  There was also the fact that she knew as soon as she came through the other side she’d feel weak and have to rest awhile before heading back to the manor.  She couldn’t put her finger on how time worked between the portals, and if it would be early evening in Republic City as she was calculating, or if her trip had altered time in some way.  She had stayed in the Spirit world for so long after first coming through her portal she lost track of time.

She turned and said her goodbyes to her generous friend and walked into the pink beam.

* * *

 

Korra almost didn’t get out of the way in time.

She had been watching the woods in her vision for a few minutes when movement forced her eyesight to the right.  Out from the trees came an animal that looked very similar to a poodle pony, but it wasn’t as poodle-y.  It carried something on its back, but Korra couldn’t make it out until the creature walked into the light.  That’s when she realized it was Tuesday, and she was unconscious.

Korra tried to move towards them, but only her mind could move, and even then, only in a three-sixty.  She was anchored to this spot.  She focused on Tuesday’s face for any indication of life.  Her eyes were puffy, Korra noted.  At that moment, the grey light reflected off of something on her cheek. 

_Tears_ , Korra thought.  _She’s sleeping, and she’s having a nightmare._

Korra knew them all too well.  So many mornings of waking up with a face wet from tears, so many nights staying up because she didn’t want to face the nightmares.  She knew what a sleep deprived person looked like, because for many years one stared back at her every time she looked into a mirror.

She had already deducted that Tuesday must have left shortly after they went to bed, considering the distance she’d crossed by foot.  In turn, that meant she hadn’t really slept, which made sense of her falling asleep across the back of a lumbering animal.

As Korra pondered, Tuesday’s eyes opened, and Korra sighed in relief.  As she watched what seemed like a tender moment between Tuesday and her carrier, she was content in knowing Tuesday was fine and on her way back, so she decided to leave, only to have her heart melt when she saw the animal start to follow Tuesday.  Tuesday’s lips moved and Korra watched them, wondering what they were saying.  She was still watching them when she realized a few seconds too late that Tuesday was almost to the portal.  She focused on rooting her mind to her body as quickly as possible.

She felt her mind tether to her body and popped open her eyes.  In one swift movement she somersaulted out of the portal and spun around.  She stood as she noticed a shimmer in the space she had just occupied.  She blinked, and Tuesday had materialized. 

Within the span of one heartbeat, her arms had emptied noisily and her legs gave out beneath her.  Korra surged forward and slid herself between the ground and the falling woman.  She looked down at her and felt a rush of relief when she saw that her eyes were open and focusing.  Tuesday’s eyes looked puffier than in her vision, though as Tuesday looked up at her she noticed her eyes themselves were shining and aware.  Korra realized too late she might be invading Tuesday’s space.  “Are you okay?  Would you like me to put you down?  I’m sorry for touching you, I just didn’t want you to hurt yourself,” she apologized.

Tuesday politely pulled herself from Korra’s embrace and sat cross-legged on the ground.  She straightened her personal items so they weren’t a mess and looked away nervously.  “No, thank you for that.  Just, you know, the contact thing… I’m… it’s still new,” she stammered, a blush spreading into her cheekbones.  “I’m sorry I was gone so long.  I got caught up… and I wanted to get some of my things to help with this transition.”

“Please don’t apologize; you don’t answer to me.  And I think that was a great idea, getting more of your things, just next time, please don’t be afraid to ask for help,” Korra said, moving to sit with her legs outstretched and her arms angled out behind her back, supporting her weight.

“I thought about it, honestly, but you two had just gone to bed.  The thought crossed my mind to ask Naga to come with me, but I didn’t want you to wake up and find her gone.  So, I just took off.  I hope I haven’t taken you away from your family for long,” Tuesday apologized with sincerity.

The corner of Korra’s mouth pulled into a sideways smirk as she guffawed.  Tuesday couldn’t deny herself a smile.  “The family is old news!  Don’t get me wrong, I love them all dearly, but meeting you has been so exciting.  It’s rare for something big to happen and it’s good instead of bad.  And speaking of family,” Korra was gazing at the horizon and rubbing the back of her neck with her hand, “You’re about to meet Tenzin.  He’s our ride,” Korra gestured to Tuesday’s things.

“Oh!  Sweet.  I was not looking forward to carrying all this back,” she admitted.  Tuesday looked up at the coin sized dot in the sky that was slowly growing larger by the second.  She inhaled deeply and tried to put her mind in a place fit for meeting a new person.  “So, is Tenzin your brother, uncle, cousin…?”

Korra gently shook her head from side to side as she chortled, “None of the above.  All of the above.  His father was my predecessor as Avatar… Avatar Aang.  That’s his statue in the bay.  He was also my airbending master.  I’ve known him my whole life.”  She smiled as Tenzin touched down with Oogi.

Tuesday inhaled deeply and started to stand.  Korra was up in a flash, offering her hand, and Tuesday smiled as she took it.  Korra grinned widely in return.  She turned to Tenzin, and Tuesday copied her movement. 

Tenzin’s gaze was fixed on Tuesday as he approached and Korra heard her suck in a breath and hold it.  She cleared her throat and widened her eyes at Tenzin.  He seemed to get the point; he relaxed his posture and smiled.  His hands came together and he looked warmly at Tuesday as he bowed. 

“Tuesday, Tenzin.  Tenzin, Tuesday,” Korra formally introduced them.

“Hello, Tuesday.  It’s nice to meet you.  I must admit, I’m glad this moment is here.  It’s very exciting to meet someone that came out of another portal, though I am sad I missed seeing you come through,” Tenzin confessed.

Tuesday returned the bow with a shy grin.  “You just missed me reentering; I only arrived a few minutes before you did.  How about the next time I go through, I’ll ask you to accompany me here?” Tuesday offered.

Tenzin’s brow furrowed.  “Are you unable to go back now?”

Korra answered before Tuesday could.  “No, she’s not going back now.  Moving through the portals causes her fatigue.” 

Was Korra… being protective?  Tuesday looked at her new friend with wonder.

“How very peculiar,” Tenzin mumbled as his hand moved absentmindedly to his beard.  “Do either of you have any theory as to why that is?”

Tuesday spoke up, though hesitantly.  “I’ve wondered if it’s because my body isn’t used to this magic, or divinity, or whatever these portals are made of,” she turned to stare into the pale beam.  “Here, your physical world is directly connected to your spiritual world, even Korra is part spirit.  If you were to say something like that in my world, they’d say you were crazy.  They’d tie you up in a straight jacket, toss you in a padded room and throw away the key.  You’d get your meals through a box in the door.  My point is,” she motioned to the pale pink line behind her, “I grew up looking at the skyline behind my parent’s house, and one day this thing wasn’t there, and the next day it was.  I seriously considered taking myself to the neurologist.  But then, I started walking toward it and this mare showed up, and she let me ride her.  She took me right to the portal, so I came through.  I think several days passed; I sort of lost track of time, though.  Then yesterday…” her head turned and those captivating cyan eyes were already on her, “…well, the rest is history.”  Tuesday gave Korra a shrug and a shy grin.  She was proud of herself.  She was getting better, slowly but surely.  Her chest tried to clench painfully as if to challenge her, but failed miserably.

“Too late to make a long story short in this case, but perhaps since your world has closer spiritual ties, going through portals don’t affect you as drastically.  I have to have a spirit physically accompany me through the Republic City portal,” Tuesday continued.

Tenzin was lost in thought, eyes glazed over and looking in the general direction of the portal.  Korra turned to Tuesday.  “Jinora was here earlier.  She and Asami went into town to look for you.  We had remembered you said you wanted to look for work, so we wanted to split up to cover more ground…”

Tuesday looked down, ashamed.  “Korra, I’m sorry.  I should have left a note.”

Korra started to put her hand on Tuesday’s shoulder, but stopped herself and faced her palm toward the sky instead.  “You did in a way, because you left your guitar.  We knew you were coming back.  I guess we just… got anxious or antsy or worried or _something_.  You had been gone so long and we knew you were walking but you have no idea where you are and Republic City isn’t always the safest city and I’m rambling _but_ ,” Korra inhaled deeply, “Please don’t apologize.  You don’t answer to us, but we do feel somewhat responsible for your safety right now and while you get situated.  I hope that’s okay with you,” Korra stammered.

A smile crept across Tuesday’s face as she realized the Avatar was blushing.  Her heart skipped a beat, and she scolded it and herself.  She awkwardly shifted her gaze to Tenzin. 

Tuesday watched in amusement as Tenzin would walk a few steps, grab his beard, babble to himself for a few seconds, then find a different spot and repeat the process.  She chuckled.  Poor guy seemed more lost about all this than she was.  _Maybe I can help._   She closed her eyes and directed her thoughts inward.  She felt her arms wind around herself as she shuddered through her dark memories, but she kept breathing and focused on the other side.

_Avalon?_

She felt a familiar weight settle on her shoulder.  Her mind resurfaced gently and peacefully, eager to introduce her to Tenzin.

Tuesday opened her eyes, and the first thing she realized was that neither Korra nor Tenzin had noticed Avalon.  The second thing she discovered was that Avalon’s color had changed from green to lavender.  She pointed out the obvious.  “You changed color!” 

Korra turned and jumped in surprise at finding the spirit perched merrily on Tuesday’s shoulder.  Avalon tittered jubilantly and kicked her feet. 

“People’s faces are so funny!” she squealed.

Tenzin had joined them by now and was laughing along with the adorable spirit.  Avalon opened her happy eyes and directed her gaze to Tenzin.  “Tuesday called me to talk with you.”

“You’re direct,” Tuesday quipped.

“It’s a vice and a virtue,” the spirit countered.  She slid off Tuesday’s shoulder and floated gently to the ground.  She looked up at Tenzin.  “I will help however I can, but I only have so many answers.”

Tuesday’s knees were starting to tremble.  Between barely sleeping and going through the portals her legs just didn’t want to hold her up.  She didn’t want to be rude and sit while everyone else stood.  She clenched her jaw and widened her stance just a little.

Korra noticed the movement and Tuesday saw the realization in her eyes.  The Avater kept her eyes on Tuesday as she spoke.  “Avalon, Tenzin, I apologize for interrupting, but I’d like to get Tuesday back to the manor.  May I borrow Oogi if I send him back?” Korra asked politely.

“It’s fine with me.  Do you mind if I’m in your company for awhile, Avalon?” Tenzin asked the spirit. 

She considered Tenzin and shrugged her tiny shoulders.  “Sure.  Why not?  Oh, Tuesday, I visited Wan Shi Tong’s Library and did an inordinate amount of reading.  I think your friend may be able to join you on this side, but I have to do more research.  I will be in touch soon.”

A look of confusion flitted across her face.  “Friend?”  The realization hit her, and she gasped.  “The mare?  Really?  How?”  Her left knee buckled and she grimaced. 

Avalon waved her away as she turned back to Tenzin.  “Another time, Tuesday.   Go rest.”

She was starting to feel jittery in the core of her body.  She agreed that she needed rest, but she dreaded going to sleep.  She closed her eyes and submitted to the fact that she was useless like this.  She would take the spirit’s advice.  Korra was still watching her, and had already grabbed her guitar case and duffel bag.  She floated them onto the back of Oogi’s saddle and turned to face her. 

Korra’s eyes fell to the side as one hand settled on her hip and the other nervously rubbed the back of her neck.  “So, I don’t… I can… Will you let me get you up into the saddle?” Korra fumbled. 

Tuesday suppressed a whimper as a spasm shot through her back.  _How embarrassing_ , she thought.  She chided herself for putting herself in a position to need the help of someone else.

Korra must have picked up on this and came closer to her.  This time, she did put her hand on Tuesday’s shoulder.  She could feel the warmth from Korra’s hand through her clothing, and she decided to swallow her pride and her fear.  She nodded, and in one swift movement, she was nestled comfortably in the Avatar’s steady arms.  Tuesday felt the air pull around her as Korra projected them upwards.  She landed skillfully, with her knees bent, and gently released Tuesday against the side of the saddle.  “You good while I drive this guy?” Korra inquired.

Tuesday gave the tiniest of nods, exhausted but thankful.  Korra climbed onto Oogi’s neck and grabbed the reins.  “Oogi, to the manor.  Yip yip.”

* * *

 

Asami and Jinora had stopped at a market for something to drink when they happened to look up into the sky at the right time and see Oogi coming from the direction of the portal.  He veered towards the manor, and Asami’s hand flew up to her mouth.  “Can you sense anything, Jinora?  Is anyone hurt?”

Jinora was already nodding her head halfway through the question.  “Tuesday’s up there, and Korra.  I don’t sense that anything is wrong.  Dad must be fine because Oogi wouldn’t leave him if he weren’t.  Let’s go meet them to see what happened,” she suggested, and they hopped into the car and sped off.


	10. Art and an Offer

Asami drove like a madwoman to the manor, and they made it there in record time.  As they pulled up, Asami sighed with relief as she saw Korra, but gasped when she saw the unconscious woman Korra was lifting off Oogi’s back.  Tuesday’s head rolled when they landed on the ground, even though Korra airbended them down as gently as possible.  Her face was taut with worry, and she looked up as she and Jinora ran up to meet them.  She immediately filled them in as Oogi took off behind them to return for Tenzin.

“She went home to get more of her things, and the portal really drained her.  That and she left shortly after we went to bed last night and walked all the way to the portal… and after she came back through her knees were giving out on her, so I left Tenzin talking with Avalon so I could bring her home.” 

Asami recognized something in her wife’s voice, aside from worry.  She cared for the unconscious woman in her arms.  Asami felt warmth spread through her at her wife’s compassion, and she was pleased to be assured that she was not the only one who felt such a strong connection to the newcomer.

Asami and Jinora opened the front doors for Korra, and the group ascended the stairs.  Asami opened the door to Tuesday’s room, and Korra knelt on the bed so as to not jostle Tuesday as she laid her down.  She sat on the edge of the bed with her back to the headboard and watched as Asami pulled the covers up to Tuesday’s shoulders.  Jinora stood at the foot of the bed with one arm wrapped around a bedpost.  She was the first to break the silence.

“She’s so bright.  Her aura… I’ve never seen one like it.  There are different colors dancing around her, but outside of them, there are two rings, one pink, one yellow.  Internally, her head and her heart are white, but there are lines.  They’re very dark, darker than the ones I can see in your body, Korra.”

“What do you mean?” Asami interrogated.

“Generally, if there are dark spots in an aura, it’s an indicator of trauma.  When… Korra was poisoned… it left its mark throughout her mind and body.  They’re not as dark as they used to be, though,” Jinora explained softly.  “And Asami, your heart and mind have been badly hurt emotionally, and I’ve always been able to see that, too, though now your marks are pale and nearly gone.  But this poor girl…” Jinora shook her head, “there are lines in her mind, her heart, and the darkest, blackest line I’ve ever seen running right down the center of her torso.  I wonder what happened,” she frowned.  “But to still be so bright with all these marks on her soul… she’s a wonder.”

The three women sat there, deep in thought for a moment before a gentle tap sounded on the door.  They looked up to see Pema and Senna standing in the doorway.  “Is everything all right, girls?” Pema quietly asked.

Asami looked down at her sleeping friend, and felt the sides of her mouth turn down as she noticed a tear pooling in one of her eyes.  “She’s just sleeping, not hurt.”  _Physically._   “She walked to her portal for more of her things and it drained her.  She doesn’t sleep well, and didn’t sleep last night.  I imagine all of the physical and mental exertion caught up with her,” Asami explained. 

“Come on girls.  Let’s allow her some rest.  We’ll take turns checking on her every half hour,” Senna suggested.  “How’s that?”

The three of them nodded and followed their mothers out of the room.  Senna gently pulled the door to as they exited, and her arms wrapped around Korra and Asami.  “So much excitement.  Being a part of this family means never having a dull moment.”

They laughed, and Pema said light-heartedly, “Let’s go have some tea and sit with everyone.  I’ll go check on Tuesday first, then Senna, then Jinora.  We’ll go from there.”

Asami turned to Pema as she spoke, “If it’s okay, I’ll go after Mom, then Korra after me.  I expect her to sleep for at least an hour, but past that, if she wakes, I want it to be to a somewhat familiar face greeting her.”

Pema nodded in agreement.  “Yes, that’s probably a good idea.”

* * *

 

Korra, Asami, Kya, Tonraq, Senna, Bolin, and Opal sat strewn about the manor’s largest living room.  Laughter echoed on the walls as jokes were told and stories were shared.  Hands were held and affection was shown.  Asami cuddled with Korra and looked at every face surrounding her and felt pride, love, and camaraderie. 

She felt a pull from upstairs and looked at her watch.  She nudged Korra and her wife’s beautiful blue orbs turned to her in question.  She pointed to her watch and tilted her chin upstairs.  Korra leaned up to allow her wife room to stand.  Asami bent down and cupped her wife’s cheek before placing a tender kiss on her narrowly parted lips.  Korra’s eyes fluttered shut as she swooned, but their exchange was shortened as Kya and Tonraq simultaneously said, “AWWW!”

They smiled against each other’s lips before parting.  As Asami leaned back up, Korra squared her shoulders towards Kya and her father.  “Really, you two?  You’re worse than Bo.”

“We’re making up for lost time,” Tonraq boomed, and Asami joined in as everyone hooted with laughter.  Korra pouted and stuck out her tongue at her Dad, but everyone just continued to laugh because they could see the smile tugging at the corners of the Avatar’s mouth.  Kya doubled over and Tonraq slapped his knee and roared with laughter as Korra made an obscene Southern Water Tribe gesture with her hand.  Senna gaped for a moment before she muffled her laughter in her hand, shaking her head.  Bolin and Opal sat there grinning at the exchange even though they obviously didn’t know what it meant.

Asami smiled at her wife endearingly before politely excusing herself from the room.  She smiled to herself as she listened to the banter continue on her way up the stairs.  Upon reaching the top she paused as her ears picked up a different sound, and her heart thumped loudly when she recognized it as Tuesday’s guitar.  She was awake.

Asami wasn’t sure how to approach her, remembering the tear she had seen forming in her new friend’s eye earlier as she slept.  She may have had bad dreams, she may have slept well.  Asami decided to listen to the song to see if it was any indication of her mood.

Asami crept quietly to door and leaned her head down, allowing her long raven colored locks to fall around her face.  She closed her eyes and found her body swaying to the melodic rhythm being plucked on the strings.

_Message read on the bathroom wall said_  
_I don’t feel at all like I fall_  
 _And we’re losing all touch, losing all touch_  
 _Building a desert_

Asami could read between the lines well enough to decipher meaning from the song, and she could deduce Tuesday was feeling somber.  Wanting to check on her and comfort her, if allowed, but not wanting to interrupt, Asami stood outside the door going back and forth over what to do. 

She listened, but no more words were sang, only notes played, beautiful and forlorn at the same time.  Trapped in the melody, she stood with her hands gripping the door frame on each side until the song was over. 

Many things about this woman entranced her, and she didn’t know how she was supposed to feel about that.  She shrugged it off as curiosity as she knocked on the door.  “Tuesday?  It’s Asami.  May I come in?”

“Sure,” she answered meekly.

Asami pushed the door open and saw Tuesday sitting cross legged on the bed, guitar in her lap, bedside lamp lit.  The color underneath her eyes screamed that she was still sleep-deprived.  It looked as if she had been crying at some point in the day, but right now, as she looked up at Asami walking towards her, the pale woman’s smile was small but warm and gracious, and it was reflected in those storm colored eyes.

Asami found herself eager talk to Tuesday as she returned her smile.  She gestured to the edge of the bed.  “May I?”

She nodded, and Asami sat on the edge in front of her, with one leg tucked under her and the other laying over the side of the bed.  “It’s cliché to ask, but how are you feeling?”

“I’m still tired, but I know you see that.  I sleep in spurts most of the time,” she explained.  “I was thinking I should get my own place as soon as possible so my erratic lifestyle doesn’t become a hindrance to you two.”

A frown crossed Asami’s face.  “Tuesday, please.  Trust me, things get crazy around here.  It’s erratic enough on its own.  Honestly, you fit right in here,” she admitted, both to Tuesday and herself.  She paused as this realization sank in.  Tuesday filled the awkward pause.

“You two are newlyweds.  You deserve to have this place to yourselves right now.  I’d be in the way,”

“You’ve not really seen the size of this place.  And we don’t always stay here, either.  We’re away on business a lot, and we have an apartment in a high-rise downtown, overlooking the portal.  So please, consider our home yours.  After you’re well and have gotten on your feet, we will of course respect your decision if you want your own place, but please remember you’re welcome here as long as you need to stay.”

“That’s very kind of you.  I’ve never stayed in a place so big before.  Well, hotels and university, sure, but not a home.  It’s massive, and the architecture and designing are exquisite,” Tuesday gushed.  “I love artwork in all its forms.  I love thinking about the mind behind the piece of art, whether it be a song, a painting, a piece of machinery,” she smiled shyly at Asami when mentioning the latter, “a novel, affection…”

Asami’s head tilted.  _Affection?_   “Affection?” she asked before she realized she was.

The little line across Tuesday’s nose and cheeks that carried her freckles tinged the same shade of pink as her lips.  “I think touching someone is an art… physically, or mentally.  You can do a lot of good or bad with your words and your hands.  Think about it.  If you’re arguing with someone and throwing punches, no matter what you do, you have influenced that person, you have affected them.  You have sculpted something in them, and molded them into something different than what they were before you,” she bit her bottom lip and continued.

“But I think the best example of affection as art is love-making.  There is no work of art more beautiful than a sated lover.”  Asami watched the woman in front of her blush crimson, and she couldn’t stop herself from grinning.

“Red looks good on you,” she said playfully as she patted Tuesday’s knee.  All of a sudden, her eyes widened and she looked at the musician apologetically.  “I’m so sorry!  I’m so bad at remembering the touching thing!  I just feel comfortable with you…” she trailed off as she realized Tuesday face was wearing a shy grin.

“It’s okay, Asami, I’m doing all right.  If something is too much, I’ll let you know, but I feel comfortable here, and I’m working through it, and I’m glad it’s you and Korra who are helping me,” Tuesday confessed.

“And we’re really glad you decided to stay,” Asami said.  “But the next time you want to go through your portal you tell us so we can come with you, or I’ll kick your ass.”

“Yes ma’am,” Tuesday chuckled softly.  Her laugh grew a little louder as Asami heard a funny sound from behind Tuesday’s guitar and asked, “Was that your stomach?”

Curls fell around Tuesday’s face as she dropped her hand from the top of her guitar to her waist.  She sighed and answered, “Yes.  I neglected to eat today.  I brought food from my house and intended to eat on the way back but I fell asleep instead.”

Asami glanced at her watch.  She placed her hand on Tuesday’s knee as she stood up, and was pleased when Tuesday smiled at the contact.  “Get ready.  We’re going to this new little shop I saw in town today.  I’ve been craving fresh bread and soup ever since.”

“Okay.  I’m down.  Can you give me five minutes?” Tuesday asked politely.

“Absolutely, and in the meantime I’ll go downstairs and tell Korra we’re going.  Would you like to just join me downstairs when you’re ready?  Also, there is a small crowd.  Tenzin’s sister Kya is here.  Korra’s parents and Bolin and Opal are also here,” she warned.

“I’ll meet you downstairs.  If I’m staying, it’s time I mingle,” she answered with a sideways grin.  “I’ll do my best.”

Asami stopped to give her beautiful new friend a knowing look as she made her way out the bedroom door.  “You won’t have to try very hard Tuesday.  Everyone’s going to love you.”


	11. Quite a Surprise

Asami’s eyes found her wife as soon as she entered the living room.

“Ha!  Told you!  You’re giving Naga her next three baths,” Korra called out as she pointed at Bolin before turning to her father, “and you now owe me your undying love and affection and this spontaneous wrestling match!”  Korra crouched and pounced on her father, sending the large man momentarily floundering. 

“Why doesn’t she want my undying love and affection?” Bolin asked Opal.  Laughter is all he got for an answer.

Asami planted herself on the couch next to Senna and laid her head on the older woman’s shoulder.  In turn, Senna propped her head against Asami’s.  “Is your friend still sleeping, sweetie?” she inquired.

“Actually, no, she’s up.  Still tired, but I think she had a nightmare.  I’ve gone through those nights with Korra.  Sleep three hours, wake up in terror, can’t go back to sleep for another couple of hours… repeat,” Asami’s voice fell flat as she thought about the nights it still happened, albeit few and far between.  “She coming downstairs in a few minutes, and she and I are going to go get bread and soup and noodles for everyone from this new shop in town.”

“Oh good.  I was hoping we’d be able to meet her before tomorrow.  And I love fresh bread, so get extra,” she laughed. 

Asami frowned as she thought about having to say goodbye to Tonraq, Senna, and Katara tomorrow, but it was quickly erased as Korra noisily pinned her father’s shoulders to the ground.  “So what happened here?  Who was betting what?” Asami asked Senna.

“Bolin and Tonraq bet Korra that she couldn’t do fifty push-ups with Opal sitting on her back.  I told them they were damn fools.  She could do fifty with me on her back by the time she was thirteen.  Bolin went in anyway, and I think Tonraq wanted to lose the bet,” she said, the latter part of the statement whispered behind her hand. 

Asami rolled with laughter as Korra popped up from the pin and flexed her muscles.  “Still the SWT wrestling champion!” she bellowed.  Her ocean blue eyes were dancing with amusement when they met Asami’s, and she waggled her eyebrows.  Asami doubled over and cackled. 

“You’re such an adorable dork,” Asami managed to get out between cackles. 

“I’m your adorable dork,” Korra smirked.

Out of the corner of her eye Asami saw movement by the archway into the room.  Tuesday was standing just outside, wringing her hands and obviously preparing herself to meet new people.  When she looked up at her, Asami could see the worry swimming in those captivating blue-grey eyes, but more importantly, she also saw the fight in them. 

She excused herself from Senna and walked out into the hall.  As she strolled up to Tuesday, she noticed the form-fitting pants she wore, though she couldn’t place the fabric.  She liked the way it looked and her inquisitive mind wanted to know.  “What kind of material is this?” she asked as she grabbed a belt loop.  Asami noticed as Tuesday instinctively jutted out her hip. 

“Uh… um.  Top or bottom?” she paused, then giggled and blushed, then shook her head and cleared her throat.  “Jeans and a flannel.”  She seemed to be tripping over her words.

Asami raised an eyebrow at the giggle, but her question hadn’t been answered yet.  “Jeans?”

“Yeah- oh!  The material.  Jeans are made of denim.  It was invented for work clothes during the Industrial Revolution in my world, but they became so popular everyone wanted to wear them.  I’m guessing you guys don’t have denim here?” she asked, clearly surprised.

“No, but I like the way it looks, and I’m constantly replacing my work clothes, so it would be ideal.”

“I could go buy you some.  Wait!” Tuesday snapped her fingers and pointed at her.  “What if I gave you an old pair of mine, and you get it into someone’s hands that could figure out how to replicate the thread and the stitch?” she suggested eagerly.

Asami’s mind was already working.  “Oh I think that’s a great idea.  I’ll meet with the crew that designs and makes the upholstery for my Satomobiles.”  Asami grinned as something came to her mind.  “Look at that, Tuesday.  You’ve been in our world for a day and you’ve already given us something useful.”

“Oh, jeans, wow.  I’m saving the world,” she replied sarcastically. 

Asami laughed.  “Hey, if you’re making me happy, then the Avatar is happy, and then the whole world is happy.  Come on,” she says, gently entwining her arm around the musician’s, “Let’s get this over with so we can go get some grub.  I heard Korra’s stomach rumbling over the sound of her wrestling with her Dad, and that’s saying something.”  Asami smiled down at the shorter girl for reassurance. 

Tuesday nodded at her.  “Okay.  Let’s go."

* * *

 

Of course everyone’s eyes turned to them as they entered the room.  Tuesday could feel the heat creeping across her cheeks, and in that very moment she was honestly thankful she had Asami there squeezing her arm, holding her up.  Inside, everything was screaming, but physically she was standing dead still.  She had been so afraid of allowing anyone near her for so long it felt like instinct.  But…

…If she wanted to be a part of these girl’s lives, she was going to have to wake up.  Luckily these thoughts only spanned the course of a few seconds.  Tuesday blinked, and it came to her attention that people were smiling at her.  A sideways grin pulled at her lips, and her eyes focused on Korra, who was standing there in all her goofy glory, beaming at her.  It gave her the courage to give the room a little wave.

“So I’m the elusive Tuesday,” she joked, and the grins in the room grew a little more, “I apologize for keeping these two from you…”

She was stopped midsentence as Asami jerked her arm inwards, thus pulling her arm along with it.  “Don’t apologize for that.  The spirits being involved, another portal, they know this is something special, and they understand.  They would have helped you if they found you, too.”

Tuesday watched as heads nodded around the room.  Korra walked over and wrapped her arm around Tuesday’s free arm, then used her own to introduce everyone.  She pointed first to the couch on their left.  “That dashing fellow there is Bolin, who is pretty much our brother, and in his lap sits our darling Opal.  These two got engaged last night!” Korra whooped, and the room erupted in applause.  Bolin stood and lifted Opal in his arms as he went, bowing the two of them dramatically.

She pointed at the chair just to the right of the couch.  “That lovely lady is Kya, daughter of Katara and Aang, as well as Tenzin’s sister.  Wanna hear something really funny?  Tenzin used to date our friend Lin a long time ago,” Korra gossiped, “but now Lin is Kya’s girlfriend!”

“Juicy stuff,” Tuesday chuckled, and the room laughed with her.  As the tittering died down, Kya muttered, “You’re an ass, Avatar,” which made everyone start all over.  It took a few tries for everyone to stop, a different person losing it each time, everyone quickly falling back into a fit of giggles behind them.  Finally Korra was able to finish her introductions. 

“The old man still lying in the floor from the ass kicking I gave him ten minutes ago is Tonraq.  He might be old and easy to beat, but he is my Dad and he is the best.  And this lady right here,” she let go of Tuesday’s arm and walked over to the lady, then plopped heavily onto her lap, “is my mother, Senna.”  She wrapped her arms around the older woman and pulled her close.

“I’m getting too old for you to plop into my lap like that, Korra,” Senna scolded playfully.

“See?” Korra said lightheartedly.  The chuckles erupted throughout the room again.

Tuesday looked up at Asami and smiled and she unwound her arm.  She turned back to the new faces and placed her hands together to bow.  “It’s very nice to meet all of you,” she said, still a little shy and unsure of what to say.  Asami saved her.

“We’re heading into town for dinner.  We’ll get tons of everything, don’t worry,” Asami said to Korra and Bolin before they could interrupt her.  Senna groaned as Korra jumped out of her lap and into her wife’s arms.  She planted a quick kiss on her cheek. 

“Yes, all the foods.  Have fun and be careful.  Tuesday,” she smiled at the new girl warmly, and Tuesday felt it in her bones, “Take care of my wife for me.”

“Mission accepted, boss.”  She winked at Korra and received a lop-sided grin in return.  It was infectious.

They said their goodbyes and walked through the hall to the foyer.  Tuesday had to take almost two steps for every one Asami took.  The taller woman noticed and slowed her pace.  “I’m sorry,” she said, “I forget about my long legs from time to time.”

“I bet Korra doesn’t.”  Tuesday froze.  Did that just come out of her mouth?  She blushed profusely as she quickly found something interesting on the ground to study.  _You can’t avoid it, Tuesday.  Apologize and learn to keep your mouth shut._

As she looked up she opened her mouth to speak, but seized when she found Asami’s mesmerizing green eyes sparkling and a sly grin on her dark red lips, so she closed her mouth.  A throaty laugh quietly escaped Asami’s lips as she said, “You’re right.  She doesn’t.”  The passion that oozed out of her words painted a mental picture that was very easy for Tuesday to perceive.

Somehow she had the courage to use words.  “Asami, I’m sorry, that was very bold of me to say.  I barely know you two.  I have no freaking clue where that came from.”  She nervously kicked at the cobblestone beneath her feet, but winced as she stubbed her toe.  Oh yeah, she was smooth.

Relief moved into her body when Asami laughed.  “There’s nothing to be sorry for.  I thought it was funny, and it’s true and you picked up on that obviously, so maybe you get us a little more than you think you do.”  They reached the car and hopped in, and Asami started the car with a flourish and buzzed the front gate.  “And yeah, we’ve known you a day, but no one can argue that this is a special circumstance.  But even though we’ve been brought together for a reason,” she turned onto the main road to head into town, “we still like you, Tuesday.  Korra and I were just naturally drawn to you and your singing.  If we had met you in Republic City, I truly believe we would have still been drawn to you.”

Tuesday fidgeted with her fingertips shyly as the black-haired beauty’s words resonated through her.  “Thank you for saying that.  I still feel like I’m in a dream, to be honest.  If I didn’t feel so rough or nervous all the time, I would be fully convinced I was dreaming.  Everything is so surreal.”

Asami was quiet for a moment as she turned into the heart of the town.  “I can only imagine how chaotic your mind must be going through all of this.  We encounter unusual a lot, so it’s less of a shock, a little more believable, I suppose.”

They rode in silence for a few moments, Tuesday’s mind going faster than the car in which she rode.  She closed her eyes and calmed her breathing, which had started to become erratic.  Best she didn’t delve too much into her mind.

Asami made a left onto a narrow street.  Here the brick buildings seemed a little older, but sturdy nonetheless.  Light sporadically poured onto the street from open doorways and windows of businesses still open.  “You all right?” she asked her, the concern in her voice apparent.

“I’m just overwhelmed, and it’s not all bad,” she answered truthfully.

“We can work with that,” Asami assured her.  Tuesday smiled in spite of her nerves.

“So where’s this place we’re going?” she asked. 

Asami squinted then pointed in front of her on the left side of the street.  “Right past this next intersection, I was afraid they might have closed already, but it looks like they’re open.”

Tuesday turned to face Asami, ready to ask her if they were going to need the trunk to carry all the food back when she saw it.

Barreling into the intersection was a massive box truck.  Tuesday watched in horror as Asami’s head turned in time to see it, but it was too late.  He was just too close and going too fast. 

Tuesday’s body instinctively turned to face the truck, pushing her back against the passenger side door.  Her arms flew up in front of her, as if she could stop what was coming.  All in the span of two seconds this happened, and all she could think about was how she’d failed Korra.  Asami was about to die. 

Every emotion possible seemed to hit her as she faced her imminent death, but then the strangest thing happened.

She felt a pull in the center of her body that made her feel windswept all over.  The sensation raced through the length of her arms as if it were trying to escape her body.  An enormous spiraling gust of air shot out of her palms and slammed against the front of the truck.  The force wasn’t enough to stop it, but it was enough to push them aside, and the truck went past, only whacking out a headlight.  It only made it a half block before sideswiping a cart and spinning out in the middle of the road, cars slamming on breaks and skidding out to avoid a collision.

Both women sat in the idling car catching their breath for what felt like an eternity, Tuesday’s arms still stretched out defensively in front of her.  She lowered them when Asami turned to her, a look of sheer astonishment on her face.  “Tuesday… you… just… you can airbend!”  The amazement left her face as she noticed her savior’s shaking form.  She slid next to Tuesday.  “Are you all right?  You’re as white as a ghost.  Are you hurt?”

Tuesday didn’t really hear the words being spoken to her.  She had slipped into the beginning of shock.  She was vaguely aware of the blood rushing in her ears, her vision narrowing, her stomach churning, her hand grasping for the door handle.  Asami reached over her and pushed open the door as she realized what she needed, and followed her out the passenger side to the alleyway between two buildings they had nearly crashed into.

Tuesday leaned her shoulder onto the corner of one of the buildings and tried to calm herself.  Her stomach heaved as her vision tunneled even further and her center of balance swayed.  She felt Asami’s arms steady her and sweep her hair away from her face.  Tuesday was grateful, because it was just in time to keep it out of the bile that involuntarily made its appearance at that very moment.

Her hands shook as she spit the foulness out of her mouth.  It took her awhile to realize Asami was still there, still grasping her and her hair.  Tuesday turned to look at her, and apparently everything she was feeling must have shown on her face because Asami said, “Don’t you dare apologize to me.  You saved our lives.  The least I could do for you was hold your hair while you were getting sick.”

Tuesday nodded.  The physical shock of what had happened had dispersed with the evacuation of her stomach, but the emotional impact was just hitting.  She leaned into Asami and shook her head, the tears spilling involuntarily.

* * *

 

As Asami walked Tuesday back to the car, she looked down the block at the truck that had nearly killed them.  She narrowed her eyes and felt a surge of satisfaction as the police cars started to pull up.  In the midst of the patrol units was a detective’s car that she immediately recognized.  She sat Tuesday down in the passenger seat, leaving the door open.  She kneeled down in front of Tuesday and rested her hands on the shaken girl’s knees.  “I’m going to go talk to an officer about what happened, okay?  Stay here, and just take it easy.  I’ll be right back.” 

Asami straightened her knees but remained bent at the waist.  She did this to be closer to Tuesday’s face, though it tore at her to see her beautiful face so shaken.  She could see more brewing in those stormy eyes, but she couldn’t place exactly what else Tuesday was feeling at the moment, and she wasn’t talking.  She reached down and squeezed her hands before turning away. 

She had only walked a few steps before she spotted Mako running towards her.  There were embers in his eyes; he was pissed.  She put her hands up to calm him before he could even start.  She had a feeling he wouldn’t be the last person she’d be calming down tonight. 

“Please don’t tell me you called Korra.”

“What!” he pinched in between his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.  “Of course I called Korra!  As soon as I heard your plate number get called over the radio I radioed the manor.  What else would you have me do?” he interrogated, exasperated.

Asami could take it, and Asami could give it right back. 

“NOT CALL KORRA!  We’re okay, and you know damn well she’s going to show up and freak out.  You better find out if the driver of that truck needs to be arrested or let go, because I pity them if they’re still here when she arrives,” Asami countered authoritatively.

Mako raised his finger to argue, but his eyes moved up and past Asami’s left ear.  His hand smacked his forehead instead as he moaned, “Ahhh fuck.”

Asami knew exactly what she was going to find when she looked over her shoulder, because that was the direction of the manor.  Korra was already here.  What Asami _didn’t_ know until she turned around was that Korra was already in the Avatar state.

“Damn it, Mako, I told you!” she yelled back as she took off down the block to intercept her wife.

She did her best to judge where Korra was going to land.  If she could get her arms around her wife and say her name, it might snap her out of the Avatar state in time to _not_ kill whoever was driving that truck.  Korra twisted in the air and she recognized the movement.  She made a beeline to the spot on the ground directly underneath Korra.  As soon as her feet touched the ground and her glowing frame straightened, Asami gently embraced her wife, the way that lovers do, and placed her lips near her ear.

“Korra,” she said, softly but with substance.  She wanted Korra to feel her, know she was tangible, and see she was safe.  She knew that was what had sent her wife into the Avatar state.  “I’m right here, Baby.  I’m fine.”

She pulled back to observe the love of her life’s face and the weight of the world fell off her chest as she saw panicked cyan eyes instead of blazing white.  She pulled Korra against her and squeezed her tightly, and this time, Korra returned the affection with feeling. 

Asami could feel Korra’s heart pounding and hear her shaky gasps.  She pulled back and took her worried face between her hands.  She stared into those blue pools she loved so much and said, “I’m okay.  Are you okay?”

Fire flashed behind Korra’s eyes.  “I’ll be okay so long as you keep me away from whoever hit you, because I will BREAK THEIR FUCKING LEGS OFF AND BEAT THEM TO DEATH WITH THEM FOR…” Korra had turned towards the box truck still sitting diagonally in the middle of the road to start her rant, but Asami placed her hand under her wife’s chin to turn her head back to face her and it ended.

“Don’t worry.  Mako is taking care of that.  I want you to have a look at Tuesday…”

Korra gasped.  “Tuesday!  Where is she?  Is she okay?” she craned her neck to spot their car and started to go in its direction when Asami stopped her. 

“Korra, listen.  She’s all right.  She got sick afterwards, and I think she’s still really shaken up, so it won’t hurt for you and Kya to take a look at her.  I also think we need to contact Tenzin,” Asami said as a look of disbelief came over her face.

“Tenzin?  Why?” Korra asked, obviously confused.

“Korra, Tuesday saved our lives.  The only reason I’m standing here right now is because she used _airbending_ to push the car out of the way,” she paused to wipe a tear from her eye.  “I thought I was dead.  My life flashed in front of my eyes.  That truck was a foot from my face, and the next thing I knew, a huge blast of wind whipped past me and the truck went backwards, but then I realized the truck wasn’t going backwards, we were moving to the side, and Tuesday’s arms were up in front of her and Korra, she’s an airbender!” Asami stomped her foot for emphasis.

“Holy Spirits.  That is… crazy.  I’m so thankful she was here with you,” Korra said, tears welling in her big, blue eyes.  She hugged Asami tightly and kissed her face in a million spots before awkwardly wiping at her own eyes.  

Asami caught movement over Korra’s shoulder and watched as Mako handcuffed an obviously inebriated middle-aged man and handed him off to officers.  He met her gaze and pointed at the man being led away then drew the index finger of his opposite hand across his throat.   Asami sneered.

“Mako arrested the asshole driver,” Asami told Korra as she nodded towards him.  Electricity cracked behind those ocean blue eyes as they turned to view the man being placed in the back of a patrol car.  Asami took her chin and pulled her back after she knew Korra had seen it for herself.

“Come on,” Korra said.  “Let’s go check on Tuesday, get food, and get the hell out of here.  I’ll tell Tenzin about her airbending tomorrow when we see Katara off.  I’m not torturing that girl with any more turmoil tonight.  I already owe her my life.”

They wrapped their arms around each other familiarly and started towards their new friend.  “How do you figure that?” Asami asked.  “She saved me, not you.”

Korra’s eyes said it all as Asami met her gaze, but she answered anyway.  “You ARE my life, Asami.  In saving you she saved me.”


	12. Something That Helps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spirits, I suck at naming chapters.

Tuesday woke with a start.  She rocketed herself into a sitting position and blinked in the dark.  Groggy from waking in such a rush or not, she had the distinct feeling someone nearby was hurting.

A familiar pain pulled at her heartstrings as she recalled other nights from her life she had the same feeling, but she pushed it away as quickly as it surfaced.  She sat still, eyes adjusted to the darkness, straining to hear any sound in the dark.  She jumped three feet when it happened. 

“NO!  Asami, no!”  The anguish in Korra’s voice tore through Tuesday’s heart.  Within the blink of an eye she had propelled herself off her bed and was racing across the hall.  She skidded to a halt outside the door, unsure of whether or not to knock.  She considered for half a second then knocked.

Asami sounded fully awake.  “Come on in, Tuesday.”

She opened the door and her eyes found Korra wrapped in Asami’s arms, the two of them illuminated by the pale yellow light of Asami’s bedside lamp.  Tuesday closed the door behind her and approached them.  Hearing Korra’s pain in what was obviously a nightmare had made her want to help them as much as they had helped her, even though she wasn’t exactly sure what she could do or if they would even want her here. 

Asami had her back propped up against their headboard, and Korra was wrapped around her waist with her head resting on her wife’s chest.  Tuesday asked, “May I?” as the gestured to the edge of their bed.  They both nodded, Asami with a smile, Korra with an attempt. 

Tuesday sat and pulled one leg up to her chest while the other supported her weight on the floor.  She looked at Korra until she looked back at her, then said, “”Fess up.  You’re totally playing this out so you can lay on Asami’s boobs, aren’t you?”

That got a grin out of Korra and a chuckle out of Asami.  Tuesday gave the wives a small smile.  She was glad to make them smile.  She was amazed and thankful she was able to save Asami tonight.  Maybe that was what she was supposed to do.  Had she fulfilled her purpose?  Did she have to leave now?  She looked back and forth between vivid green and ocean blue eyes.  She didn’t want to leave.

She focused on Asami as she said, “You clearly have this under control.  I’ll leave you two.  I’ll see you in the morning.”  She turned to leave but was halted as two hands grabbed her forearm.  She sat back down, eyes darting between the pale hand and the tan hand softly holding on to her.  Once she was back in her former position, Korra spoke up.  “Stay awhile.  We can never go right back to sleep when this happens.  Besides,” she sat up, “I don’t think I properly thanked you.  Everything was kind of hectic afterwards, and you drank that soup while we scanned you to see if you needed healing, and the next thing we knew you were out, so I carried you to your room.  I didn’t get a chance to tell you what you did for me tonight.  If I had lost her…” Korra’s voice shook, “… the world wouldn’t have its Avatar anymore.  I couldn’t help but wonder in some weird way if you were brought here to be in that car tonight.  Maybe that sounds silly, but if it is why, I thank the spirits from the bottom of my heart for opening that portal and bringing you here.  And I’m going to hug you now.”

Korra reached out for Tuesday, and for the first time in what felt like forever, someone’s arms wrapped around her.  She had forgotten what it felt like, and Korra’s arms were strong, sure, grateful, thankful, and welcoming.  Tuesday couldn’t help but hug her right back.  “You know, when that was happening, in those few seconds, all I could think about was how I was going to fail you.  You had asked me to keep her safe,” Tuesday took one arm from Korra and pulled Asami into the embrace.  “Then I got this feeling in my gut that rushed out of my hands.  It made me feel so alive, but I was terrified at the moment so I couldn’t really enjoy it,” she explained.

The three women pulled out of their embrace, but remained sitting closely together on the bed.  “We’re going to share the news with Tenzin tomorrow, and I was thinking, within the next couple of days or so, I’d really like to start doing some training with you on your airbending,” Korra suggested.

A huge grin spread across Tuesday’s face.  “Though I am sure I will suck, I will join you for this training,” she said half-jokingly.

“Nonsense.  You were able to create a gust strong enough to propel the car away from a speeding truck.  It’s in there, we just need to tap into it,” Korra retorted.

Tuesday shrugged.  “You may be right.  We’ll find out, because I’m intrigued.”

Korra grinned at Tuesday’s answer as she started to stretch.  As her fingertips grabbed at the air, she exhaled and dropped them.  Her smile slowly faded as she sat for a moment.  Out of nowhere she sighed, “I hate nightmares.”

At that moment, an idea popped into her head.  “Korra, if I told you I had something that helped with my nightmares, not cured, but helped, would you be willing to try it?”

“Yes, especially since they usually tend to get worse after I’ve gone _back_ to bed.  Is this something I could try now?” she asked, her curiosity visible. 

“For sure.  I’ll be right back.”

Tuesday walked quietly but with purpose to her room.  She hadn’t yet had a chance to put her things away, so she reached into her backpack for the little wooden box she had taken from her bedside table back home.  She unwrapped one of the mason jars from its tea towel and placed it on her bed with the box, then went to the top of her dresser for a lighter and a bottle of water.  Once everything had been collected on the bed, she grabbed her duffel bag and searched for pajamas.  She found a pair of heather grey drawstring pants and a long-sleeved Berklee t-shirt, and she tossed the duffel to the floor as she peeled off the jeans and flannel she was still wearing from before.  She pulled them on while hoping her friends were still awake. 

She grabbed the collection of items from her bed and walked across the hall.  She tapped gently on the door in case they had fallen back to sleep, but her smile stretched from ear to ear when she heard Asami giggle and say, “Come on in.”

Tuesday entered the room to find Korra straddling Asami.  Her arms almost dropped what they were holding as she stammered, “Uh, maybe.  Yeah, um.  I should leave you two alone.”  She turned towards the door.

“Noo, Tuesday, we’re playing… not… that… we would have been quiet if you knocked when we were doing that,” Korra stuttered her own words as she blushed.  Asami just giggled and attempted to tickle Korra. 

“You’re so cute when you blush, Babe.”

Korra’s head whipped back down to glare at her wife.  She couldn’t stay mad at that grin, and Tuesday watched as Korra pounced on Asami.  “Why, you little…” and Asami erupted into a fit of squeals as Korra pinned her and started poking her in various spots.

Tuesday was trying very hard to not be distracted as she sat on the edge of the bed, which was proving awfully difficult, considering there were two beautiful women all over each other right in front of her.  On a bed, with her on the bed.  Something stirred in her underbelly, a feeling long forgotten.  Her palms got sweaty as she realized how much these two were turning her on.  She closed her eyes and shook her head, chiding herself. 

_They’re married women!  Stop watching them.  Do something.  Do anything._

She opened her eyes and busied herself with what she had brought to share.  The bed moved as the two women finished their tickle war, Asami apparently the winner.  She didn’t pause to gloat though, as she was suddenly interested in what Tuesday’s hands were fiddling with.  She stretched across the width of the bed, laying on her front, and she used her hands to cradle her face.  Korra mirrored her wife’s position, but reached out to touch everything instead of waiting patiently to see what was happening.  Tuesday popped her hand.

“Ow, hey!” Korra pulled back and Asami cackled.

“Ha ha, you got in trouble,” she jabbed.  She looked back to Tuesday’s hands.  “So what’s this?”

“Well, it has a lot of names, but I usually just call it weed or smoke.  It grows naturally in my world, and it’s used for medicinal and recreational purposes.  It’s helped my nightmares, it’s prevented panic attacks, and it has even helped me have an appetite when I wasn’t eating.  I think it could help with your nightmares,” Tuesday explained.

Korra looked interested as she picked up the Mason jar and studied its contents.  “There’s a plant like this in the Southern Water Tribe.  It helps slow the heart rate and warm the body during the really cold winters,” she informed them. 

Tuesday grinned at the open-mindedness of her companions.  She held out what she had been fiddling with the past few minutes to allow the women to examine it.  “This is called a bubbler,” she said.  “It’s made from hand-blown glass.  You pack this bowl, but not too tightly and not too full.  And now, Korra, I need your assistance.”

“Okay,” she perked up.  “What can I assist you with?”  Asami chuckled lazily at her wife and rested her head on her shoulder.

Tuesday opened the water bottle and held up the bubbler.  “Can you bend some water into this?  Fill it to just about here,” she marked a spot on the side of the piece with her finger.  She watched as Korra, with a few quick flicks of her hand, pulled what looked like the perfect amount of water out of the bottle and slid it down the mouthpiece where it settled in the well.  Tuesday placed her finger over the carb and pulled on the mouthpiece.  “Perfect amount of water,” she told Korra.

Tuesday stood up, walked to the windows, and opened them.  “This stuff smells very potent, and it’s not exactly a pleasant aroma, though it grows on you,” she said.  “At least it did for me.”  She returned to her spot on the bed. 

Korra and Asami watched her as she put the glass to her lips, and they giggled when her lip ring clinked noisily against it.  Light pink touched her cheeks, but she quickly reset her thoughts back to what she was doing.  She grabbed her lighter and lit the bowl, allowing the flame to lick just a small portion of the green.  She inhaled briefly, releasing the carb and clearing the bowl.  She held her breath for a few seconds before exhaling.  A small smile formed on her lips and she closed her eyes.  It’d been a few weeks since she’d been stoned.  She was going to sleep better when she went back to bed.

“Now for the disclaimer.  So this alters your mind a bit,” she explained.  “Everyone reacts differently to it.  I already told you what it does for me.  It might make you have more ideas, or it might make you lazy.  It’s only ever helped me, but try it at your own risk.”

The words were no sooner out of her mouth when both women reached for the piece in sync.  The three of them laughed and Tuesday pulled the bubbler to her chest.  “Now, ladies, one at a time,” she scolded jokingly.

“After you, darling,” Korra said adoringly to Asami. 

“Why thank you, my sweet,” she replied kindly.

“You’re most welcome, love,” Korra smiled.

“You guys are giving me a toothache,” she said after watching them go back and forth.  Korra looked momentarily perplexed, but Asami got the joke straightaway.  She laughed out loud and Korra turned to face her wife.

“Damn it, I don’t get it!”  Her lower lip stuck out in a tiny pout. 

“We’re giving her a toothache because we’re so sweet,” she explained. 

“Oh!  Ha!  Ha ha!  I like that one,” she guffawed.

Tuesday handed Asami the bubbler.  She and Korra watched as she followed all the steps perfectly, because of course she had stored it all in that brilliant mind of hers.  She took her hit perfectly, though she did cough on the exhale the tiniest bit.  “Don’t worry,” Tuesday assured her, “that cough will only help your buzz.”

Korra had waited patiently for her turn, and wasn’t as good at following directions as her wife was, but she was eager to try this, especially if it would help her sleep in the slightest bit.  She didn’t take the lighter from Asami, but instead made a tiny flame with her fingers and mimicked the rest of the steps for herself.  She too coughed, but Asami mumbled to her wife, “It’s worth the cough.”  Tuesday chuckled.

Korra passed the piece back to Tuesday, and the rotation was continued until it was kicked.  Tuesday had settled her back up against the headboard at some point, and the three of them lay there in silence.  After an unknown amount of time, Tuesday spoke up.  “So, how’s everyone feeling?”

It was Korra who answered first.  “Very relaxed, almost like I’ve sunk comfortably into the bed.  Pensive.  Content.”

“Those are all very good things, and I share those feelings,” Asami stated.

“That makes me very happy.  I’ve only ever had one friend that used to smoke with me, but,” Tuesday balked.  She didn’t like to talk about her past, but if these guys could open up to her, she should return the act.  “Well, that friendship was ruined,” she shook her head.  “What a waste of eighteen years.”

She looked over at them and couldn’t help but giggle.  “You guys are baked.   And I’m also feeling comfortable and content.  And I’m super happy that I now have two friends who smoke with me,” Tuesday grinned lazily.  “Anyhow, I should leave you guys be.  Hopefully you’ll be able to sleep a little better now, Korra.  Thanks for hanging out awhile,” she said with gratitude.

“No leaving to go to the portal,” Korra demanded, and Tuesday snickered.  “We’ll see you in the morning, right?” she added.

“Yes.  Hopefully I’ll sleep in a little though,” she answered with a yawn.  It started a chain reaction, with Asami following her and Korra following her wife. 

“Tomorrow we’re going to see our parents, Katara, and Su and her family off.  You already know you’re welcome to come,” Asami slurred sleepily.

“I might,” she said.  She got up from the bed and stretched.  She turned and gathered her things in her arms.  “Good night, gals.  It’s been a pleasure.”  Tuesday smiled at the women who had shown her so much kindness and hospitality.

“Good night, Tuesday.  Sweet dreams,” Korra mumbled as she cuddled up to Asami.  Tuesday retreated quietly, and as she pulled their door shut the room went dark.  She crept into her room and placed the box and lighter in her bedside table and placed the jar on top of it.  She went into the en suite and emptied the water from the bubbler, then placed it on a hand towel to dry.  Finally, she collapsed onto the bed and pulled the pillows under her head.  Blue and green eyes danced behind her eyelids as she swiftly fell asleep.


	13. Good Morning, Beautiful.

Korra’s eyes fluttered open and tried to focus, but it was so bright it seemed like someone was shining a light in her face.  Her eyes slammed shut and she turned her head to the side and held up an arm to block the brightness before opening them again.  It was then she realized it was the sun hitting her face.

She laid there, temporarily confused, mind still trying to wake up.  She slept in the same spot nearly every night, yet she couldn’t recall this ever happening before.  It only took a few more seconds for the realization to kick in; that had never happened before because she was normally already awake and out of bed by the time the sun could reach her pillow.  Her mouth dropped open and stayed there for a few seconds before shifting into a lop-sided grin as she realized she had slept in.  She couldn’t remember the last time that had happened here at home.

Korra shielded her eyes as she peeked over her shoulder to see if she was alone and found herself elated when she discovered she wasn’t.  She gently rolled over and scooted herself forward until her body was flush with her wife’s.  She got the response she was looking for when Asami hummed deeply and pleasantly.  Korra eagerly wrapped both arms around her and pulled her as close as she could to her body.  Something sounding very similar to a purr escaped Asami’s lips, and the sound made everything that was primal in Korra come flying to the surface.  Her teeth acted on their own accord as they clamped onto the pale skin at the nape of her wife’s neck.  She was very much awake now, and Korra growled with desire when Asami’s body rolled into hers, her backside pushing into Korra’s front.  A ragged breath rushed out of her and she quickly found herself straddling her wife.  She watched as Asami’s eyes widened at the sudden movement but quickly became heavy and dark as she started to drink in the view.  Korra shuddered as Asami’s hands reached up to cup her breasts and her hips grinded into her wife’s when she grazed her nipples with her thumbs.  Korra rushed down to meet her in a kiss, and in doing so shifted so that her hips rested between Asami’s legs.  Their lips crashed together and Korra pulled Asami’s bottom lip into her mouth, sucking with gentle pressure, nipping it before letting it go.  She barely allowed a nanosecond to pass before her lips melted against Asami’s again, and her skin felt like it was set on fire when she moaned into her mouth.

Korra was more than aware of Asami’s hands all over her, aware of their breasts being pressed together as their tongues danced, and increasingly aware of the heat she felt emanating from between Asami’s legs.  Refusing to break apart from her soul mate, Korra slid her hands down Asami’s body, her wife responding with hungry sounds resonating from deep within her chest.  When her hands reached her soft and supple backside, she used her strength to tilt up her hips.  Asami pulled out of the kiss with an inward gasp, and Korra took the opportunity to look into her lover’s lust-drunk eyes as she shifted her angle enough to place herself on Asami, matching them up. 

They groaned in unison as they felt how wet they’d made each other.  As Korra began to move slowly, Asami’s body began to quiver.  Her breathing hitched in her throat and she clawed at Korra’s back as she sensually rotated her hips in the slightest bit, never breaking contact, never stopping.  As Asami’s breathing quickened, so did Korra’s pace.  Their arms never left each other, their bodies shifted and moved together as if they were in a waltz, and if their eyes weren’t locked on each other, their lips were.

Korra could always tell when Asami was close.  She could feel certain muscles in her body begin to tense, and she would start to hold her breath in short intervals, expelling each breath with a moan.  They would start off softly, and the closer she got, the louder the moans became until she came undone and was calling Korra’s name.  So when she watched as that first soft moan escaped Asami’s lips, she wrapped one arm around her waist and applied more pressure at their union.  Korra started to feel unhinged as Asami limberly wrapped her legs around her and matched her pace.  The moans continued to escape her lips, beckoning Korra each time to match everything- their bodies, the pace, the pressure, the building sensation deep within their bellies.  Asami’s legs tightened around Korra as it hit them, and together they panted and gasped for air, guttural moans escaping, bodies moving in rhythm, riding out their orgasms with their arms enveloping each other. 

After their bodies relaxed, several minutes of breath-catching and gentle caresses passed happily between them.  Korra sighed contentedly when her cyan eyes met vivid green.

“Good morning, Beautiful,” Korra whispered.

Asami’s grin reached from ear to ear, and Korra discovered her lips were matching it.  She loosened her hold as Asami’s arms reached above her head in a stretch.  Korra pushed herself up to where she was once again straddling her hips and bit her lip at the sight of her wife’s elegant body.  Her fingertips shook a little as she tenderly laid her hands on either side of Asami’s waist.  The body beneath her shuddered as she leaned down and left a few kisses on the soft skin in between her hands before leaning back up to enjoy the view.

Her wife’s arms were still stretched above her head, and her raven locks fell soft and shiny against the pillow.  Asami’s eyes watched her and Korra could see her love for her swimming around in the vibrant green.  The beams of sunlight that shined on her fair skin seemed to bounce off and create a glow around her. “Spirits, Asami, could you be any more stunning?” Korra asked, her mouth slightly agape in awe. 

Asami’s eyes traveled south, and Korra blushed as she realized she was getting checked out.  “I’d say the scenery from here is off the charts,” she countered, her voice dripping with seduction. 

Korra moaned on the way down to give her wife a chaste kiss.  “That’s it.  I can’t take anymore.  I must physically put distance between us right now or we’re never going downstairs.  I love you,” she leaned in and kissed her quickly, “and you know I am fully capable of staying here all day,” she kissed her forehead, “but I want to go visit before everyone leaves, and I know you do too, so,” she hopped up and bent over to leave one more kiss on those luscious lips, “I’m going to shower and DO NOT come in.  You know what’ll happen.”

“Yes ma’am,” Asami obediently answered, biting her lower lip, her eyes lidded.

Korra’s breathing immediately went erratic.  Her hands clenched at her sides and her knees shook as she fought the urge to once again ravage the beauty in front of her.  She somehow managed to close her eyes and turn towards the bathroom.  “Cold shower,” she mumbled, and she heard Asami chuckle behind her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short but hopefully satisfying. ;)


	14. A Significant Change

Asami held Korra’s hand as they left their room, which was the only physical contact she was allowed… for now.  She learned this after she got out of the shower and tried to kiss Korra.  She was left completely dry after the Avatar airbended herself to the opposite side of the room.

In unison they stepped across the hall and Korra tapped on Tuesday’s door.  They were met with silence.  “Let’s not invade this time.  We always go in if she doesn’t answer, but maybe she’s still sleeping.  Let’s go see who all is downstairs,” Asami suggested quietly.  Korra nodded and they turned down the hall. 

“I can’t believe we slept as late as we did,” Korra mentioned.  “And I didn’t have a single nightmare after we fell back asleep,” she added.  They turned the corner and walked along a hall with floor to ceiling windows that gave a glimpse of the back half of their property as well as a bit of Republic City.  “I want to try that stuff again.  If it continues to work, does it bother you if I…?”

“Babe, are you seriously asking for permission?” she interjected.  “I enjoyed it and want to do it again and I didn’t even have a need for it.”

“Well, it did have a strong smell and it is smoke.  I have to wonder if that’s good for me,” Korra considered.

“And you’re a healer and we’ll designate a room or go outside to smoke.  You’re worrying way too much about it.  It helped you sleep and it was so fun and relaxing; those are reasons enough for me,” She countered. 

Her eye caught movement out the window and Asami froze, curious.  Korra walked one step past before realizing she had stopped and followed her gaze out the window.  “Is that…?”

“Tuesday,” Asami finished. 

She was about fifteen yards away, perched on a thin mat, her back towards them, left arm pointed up in a perfect line.  Her right arm rippled under a glistening layer of sweat as she supported her weight on it and her right foot.  Asami’s eyes noticed the tattoos second.  She had never seen Tuesday with so little on, just a dark grey tank top and tight black pants that stopped midway down her calves.  The tattoos not only covered her arms three-quarters of the way, but they also decorated her shoulders and what was visible of her back.  It appeared as though they continued onto her torso, and Asami could see more on the left side of her waist peeking out from underneath her top.  There were more on her feet and ankles, and the markings on her calves gave the impression they continued further up her legs.  Her hair was pulled back in an intricate braid that fell all the way to the mat.  They watched as she slowly turned over to switch sides and repeat the process when Asami suddenly became very aware of how awkward this would look if Tuesday caught them watching.  “Babe, we’re being creepy on Tuesday right now.  How would you feel if complete strangers stared at you while you worked out?”  Asami pulled Korra down the hallway, not sure if they had been seen or not.

“We’re not complete strangers,” Korra said, “But we were totally staring.  Still, we could just go ask her if she wants to join us for breakfast instead of making it weird.”

“Nah, let’s go find everyone and visit.  She’s got to come around on her time, right?” Asami answered as she recalled what Korra had said.  Secretly she couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for staring at Tuesday, not because she was worried about anything involving Korra, but because she didn’t want to make the woman uncomfortable.  The woman had saved her life last night.  Every time she thought about that truck she felt a surge of gratitude.  She stopped and pulled Korra into her arms.

“Oh no, back up…” Korra argued, strictly enforcing her no contact rule until she saw the look on Asami’s face.  “Hey, what’s wrong?”

She twisted her fingers in her wife’s hair as she covered her face in kisses before embracing her as closely as possible.  “I can’t help but think about what happened last night,” she admitted, tears pooling in her eyes.  “If something had happened… leaving you here alone... I’m just so grateful Tuesday was there.”  Korra brushed away her tears before they could fall.

“She was there, and you’re here, and we will do all we can to make sure that girl never feels alone again,” Korra stated with conviction.

Asami nodded and gave her wife an endearing smile.  “Let’s properly thank her.  Today, after… the sad stuff, let’s give her a great evening.  We’ll take her to the best places in town, or whatever she wants to do, I don’t care.  And tomorrow, after you meet with Raiko and Lin and I meet with my board, let’s set the rest of the day aside for her.  We’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves and not working as hard, after all,” she suggested.

“Let’s do it!” Korra replied, a huge grin on her face.

* * *

 

As soon as they entered the kitchen Tonraq’s arms each grabbed a daughter and he squeezed them both close to him.  Pema’s cyan eyes shined with tears as he kissed the top of Korra’s head, then Asami’s.  “I want to make sure we see Tuesday again before we depart.  I know she’s not very accustomed to physical contact, but we Southern Water Tribe folk are huggers, and she’s getting one from me,” his voice carried the gratitude he felt.

“I just told her I was hugging her before I did it, and she hugged me back.  I think she’s starting to get used to the way we are around here,” Korra told her father.  “You could just ask her.”

His laughter rumbled deep in his chest.  He released the girls and Senna finally got her turn.  She embraced Korra, kissing her cheek (“Thanks, Mom”) then squeezed Asami.  Her tears threatened to spill over as she held Asami close to her, pulling her down to kiss her on the top of her head.  Korra’s heart melted as she saw the love exchanged between her wife and mother.  She put her arms around her father and looked up at his face to see a warm smile on his lips.  He noticed her looking at him and he smiled down warmly at her.  She winked at him before looking over at her mother and Asami.  She smirked at her wife.  “Mama’s girl,” she teased.

Senna chuckled and squeezed her daughter-in-law to her as Asami replied, “Yeah, well, it was her turn,” she retorted as she returned the squeeze.

“You’ve always been Daddy’s girl, Korra,” Senna pointed out, grinning, “So you can’t be jealous now.”

Korra reached over and pulled her mother and Asami into a group hug with her and her father.  “I’m not jealous at all.  Although I’m sad you’re leaving in a few hours, I’m also just overjoyed at where we all are in our lives right now.  Other than a few small skirmishes the world is at peace, the rebuilding and restructuring and political elections are over, everyone is in good health, we’re finally married,” she beamed at her wife, “I really couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Tonraq’s voice boomed out above them.  “I could!  You could give us some grandchildren!”

 Senna smacked his arm.  “Tonraq!  I told you we shouldn’t pressure them!”  She looked back and forth between her daughters.  “I’m sorry girls…”

“Dad, you know we want to wait awhile.  Maybe a long while.  Probably a long while,” Korra confessed as she looked into her wife’s eyes.  “Definitely a long while.  We want to travel and work and enjoy ourselves before we start a family.”

“You can’t blame a man for trying,” he shrugged. 

“So is everyone else in the banquet room?” Asami inquired.  Originally everyone was supposed to meet at Air Temple Island before heading to the harbor, but before they left on their honeymoon they suggested everyone meet at the manor instead to share lunch and make it a more private affair.  Air Temple Island had so many occupants now that it wasn’t as much a place for relaxation anymore as it was for education, and although there were designated places to meditate, chances were you wouldn’t be meditating alone.

Senna nodded.  “The food is on its way.  I’m glad we took your advice, Asami.”

“I would rather we spend this remaining time together instead of having a big to-do in the kitchen preparing something ourselves,” she replied as they entered the banquet room. 

The sound of scattered conversations hit their ears, and some people clapped and smiled at their late arrival.  Their eyes lit up as they scanned the room and their hearts burst seeing the congregation.  Korra reached out and entwined her fingers with her wife’s.

Bataar had his arm around Bolin talking excitedly about who knows what, and Bolin seemed to be doing all he could not to cry as he smiled at his future father-in-law.  Su stood next to Lin, her right arm across the back of her waist, Lin’s arm holding her left shoulder, Su’s head resting on her shoulder.  Korra and Asami smiled at each other as they remembered a time Lin wouldn’t have hugged anyone, especially her sister.  Wing and Wei stood with Opal between them, making her laugh. 

Tenzin, Kya, Katara, and Bumi sat in a circle as they talked quietly with one another.  Asami saw Korra frown and followed her gaze to Katara.  The elder had a smile on her face, but underneath it was the slightest hint of sorrow.  Korra pulled Asami with her as she walked towards Katara, and she watched as the woman who loved the Avatar long before she did lit up.  “Korra,” Katara spoke softly, and the Avatar’s arms wrapped around the woman.  The conversation quieted as the family around the table smiled at the embrace. 

Katara pulled away from Korra and they faced the table, pausing as they realized everyone had stopped talking.  Korra took the opportunity to speak.

“I have some pretty intense news,” she started.  “Last night, Tuesday rode into town with Asami to bring dinner back to the manor, and while they were out, there was an accident.”  Everyone’s eyes widened as they looked at Asami, and Katara’s hand flew up to her mouth.  “The truck was a foot away from the car when Tuesday airbended them out of the way,” Korra told them, her voice thick with gratitude and awe.

Asami nodded.  “The truck was right there, I… I thought I was going to die,” she shivered, and Korra wrapped her arm around her.  “Then I felt the wind rush past me and it pushed us to the side.  When I looked at her, she had her arms extended in front of her.  She saved us,” Asami finished.

Tenzin grinned broadly.  “I am so glad she was there with you, Asami.  And airbending!  How remarkable!  I wonder if she was given the gift when she entered the Rebublic City portal, or if she received it when she entered into the Spirit world from her portal,” he pondered aloud.

“All of this is crazy,” Kya added, “But Jinora says she’s one of the brightest auras she’s ever seen before.”

Korra chimed in.  “Last night we talked to her for a little while, and she said in the moment all she could think about was the promise she made to me.  I had told her to take care of Asami.  She said she then got this feeling in her gut and the wind just gushed out of her hands.”

“That’s how I found out I could airbend,” Bumi recalled.  “Does she want to begin training?”

“I offered to start her off,” she looked at Tenzin.  “I know you would normally do this, but I think it is best it’s me this time since…”

Tenzin cut her off.  “Nonsense, Korra.  You have every right to train your friend as you are a master of all the elements.  Besides, well, er… may I speak with you privately for a moment?” 

Korra nodded, although she was confused at his tone.  Tenzin was always so sure about everything, but just then he sounded very nervous.  He excused himself from the table and Korra noticed Katara’s perplexed look before she turned to follow Tenzin to two chairs with no nearby occupants.  She sat down across from him and asked with worry in her voice, “Is everything okay?”

Tenzin cleared his throat.  _Is he blushing?_ Korra grinned.  Tenzin was totally pink.  She saw his eyes move up to look at something above her head, and she jumped slightly when she felt warm, gentle hands on her shoulders.  Korra looked over her shoulder and Pema was there.  “Hello sweetheart,” she directed at Korra before gazing lovingly at her husband, her cheeks matching his in color.  “Time to ask her?” she asked, a small smile on her lips.

_There’s something in that smile_ , Korra thought as she studied Pema’s face.  She touched Pema’s hand and closed her eyes.  A huge grin plastered across her face when she felt it.  “You’re going to have another baby,” she said quietly as she looked up at her dear friend.

“Korra!  How could you tell?” Tenzin asked, clearly stunned.

She continued to hold Pema’s hand as she turned to answer him.  “Let’s just say I’m a lot more in touch with my spiritual side than I used to be.”  She looked at Pema.  “But you said ‘ask’; is there something you wanted to ask me?”

“Yes,” he began.  “Pema and I have been talking a lot since we found out our news, and we’ve come to a decision.  Mother isn’t… Mom is getting older, and she does not wish to leave her home.  However, Pema and I want to spend more time with her, as does Bumi.  We’ve decided to split our time between here and the Southern Water Tribe; six weeks there, then two weeks here.  What I wanted to ask you was, well, since things have been calm I want to give Jinora the chance to lead the airbenders for awhile.  I was hoping you could be her second in command, and be there during the day some days to help if she needs you.  Ikki also wishes to stay, but she’s only fourteen, so we haven’t made a decision about that yet.  Meelo and Rohan will be coming with us, of course.  I understand if this is all too much and you say no, and of course if something comes up I can be back here very quickly, thanks to the Republic City Portal, but, you’re family, and I wouldn’t trust my children with just anyone.  I know you and Asami will be there if she needs you.”

Korra smiled warmly at the man she’d known her whole life.  “I would be honored, Tenzin, and I’m glad you’re going to be spending time with Katara.  I think she needs you there right now,” Korra admitted.  “And congratulations on the news of the little one!  Are you guys excited?” she asked, turning to face Pema.

“It was a little bit of a surprise, but we’ve felt nothing but happiness since finding out.  Tenzin, let’s tell Jinora.  She’s going to be so excited,” Pema gushed.

Tenzin smiled, but there was a hint of sadness on his face.  “I can’t believe our baby is as grown as she is, Pema.  I also can’t believe we’re starting over!” the sadness disappeared.  “But I love our family, and I love that it’s growing,” he said to her, their eyes locked on one another.  He stood to go to her and Korra slid out of the way.  She patted them on the back as she headed back towards her wife.  “I’ll see you guys later.”

Senna and Tonraq entered the room carrying a multitude of bags, and half the room jumped up to help them set it out.  A line formed with Meelo and Bolin at the front, chopsticks and plates in hand.  Korra helped Katara out of her seat and walked towards the line with her, Asami at their side. 

They’d been standing in line chatting with Lin, Kya, and Katara for a few minutes when Korra happened to glance in the direction of the doorway.  She was surprised to see Tuesday standing there, obviously nervous, but standing up straight nonetheless.  She had showered and changed, and Korra nudged Asami to get her attention.  She looked at Korra then followed her gaze to the door.  A smile broke out on her face that made Korra feel warm all over.  “You want to go to her?  See if she wishes to join us?” Asami asked her.

“Yes.  I’ll be right back,” she replied, and she kissed Asami’s cheek before walking over to Tuesday.  She saw her coming and a smile filled with relief slowly appeared on her face. 

“Hey,” she mumbled, pink touching her pale cheeks.  “Is it okay if I join?”

“Absolutely.  You’re stuck with these people now, though, so beware,” Korra winked at her, and she looked away shyly before giggling.  When they arrived back to the group, Korra pulled Tuesday between her and Asami.  “Katara, Kya, Lin, this is Tuesday.  Lin, I’m sure Mako told you about the accident.  Did he tell you Tuesday airbended them out of the way?” Korra mused.

Lin just stood there, arms crossed while answering.  “He did not.  That’s pretty remarkable, young lady.  Were you able to do anything like that where you came from?” she interrogated.

“Oh no.  This kind of place, Republic City, is something you would read about in storybooks.  Sometimes I think I have my head wrapped around everything that’s happening, and then I realize I’m just fooling myself,” she turned to Asami.  “Pinch me.”  Asami grabbed the skin right above her elbow and pinched. 

“Ow.  Okay, yeah, no.  Not sleeping.  Did you have to pick that spot?” she asked Asami, a sideways grin on her face as she rubbed the sore spot.

Everyone grinned, even Lin, though it was just a little bit. 

Tuesday sat at the table with Tenzin’s family alongside Korra and Asami while they ate.  They watched on as she answered their questions about her journey the best she could.  Everyone was considerate to remember not to ask anything personal.  She was noticeably shy but very polite, and quite a few times she had them laughing.  Korra’s eyes met Asami’s across the table and she grinned.

It was obvious when everyone was done eating, as people started walking around for some last minute socializing.  Jinora’s arms were around her grandmother while Suyin and Tuesday talked about music.  Korra talked to Wing and Wei about setting up a power disc arena at the manor next time they came to visit, while Asami and Bataar chatted over machines and inventions.  Everyone made it around to introduce themselves to Tuesday, and both Korra and Asami were thrilled to see the genuine smile on her face. 

The time came for everyone to leave, and Tenzin stood in front of the group.  “If I could just say a few things quickly, thank you,” he nodded as everyone quieted down.  “Jinora, Pema, Bumi, could you please join me?”  Everyone waited quietly as his eldest daughter and wife stood on either side of him and his older brother stood behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.  “We just wanted to start off by saying how grateful we are to have a family like all of you.  We truly cherish the times we can come together and celebrate,” Tenzin cleared his throat and looked at his mother.  “Pema and I would like to share some news as well.  Things have been peaceful throughout the world as of lately, and we have decided to spend most of our time in the South for awhile.  Mom, we want to be there with you when we welcome our new addition.”  Tenzin smiled as he gently placed his hand on Pema’s belly.

Katara’s big blue eyes welled with tears as she covered her mouth with her hands, and the room filled with the sounds of congratulations.  Tenzin smiled broadly.  “Thank you.  We are very excited.  Bumi will be joining us, and it is with great pride I leave Air Temple Island in Jinora’s hands.”  She smiled shyly as more cheers boomed out from the crowd. 

After several hugs were exchanged, people started filing out of the banquet room.  The crowd, still talking and laughing, made their way out the front door.  Tuesday was walking behind everyone, a smile on her face as she listened to all the banter.  She had felt anxious, a little worried amongst so many people, but they made her feel so welcome, much like the two women walking directly in front of her, swinging their grasped hands a little as they exited the manor.

Tuesday slowed as she called out to them.  “Hey, guys?” she said, “Why don’t you two go ahead.  Having to see people off is hard enough, and it’s private… I can just stay here until you guys get back.”

“Are you sure?” Korra asked.  “You’re more than welcome to come.  You wouldn’t be imposing, Tuesday.”

“I’m sure.  Go be with your family.  I was actually thinking,” she paused, looking away shyly, “this evening, if you two weren’t busy, I’d like to cook for you, but my money is no good here…”

Asami spoke up, “If you go to Deshi’s Market I have a charge there.  Just add whatever you need to the tab.  Naga knows how to get there.  We were going to ask you what you wanted to do this evening… you don’t have to cook.  We can go out if you’d like.”

“I’m very content staying in, if you are.  I’m sort of okay with not getting into a car today,” she admitted.  “Besides, I love to cook, and you two have been so hospitable, it’s something I can do for you.”

“Well I’d say saving my wife’s life is more payment than we could ever deserve to receive for being hospitable,” Korra interjected.  Tuesday’s face flushed pink as she humbly bowed her head.

“I feel as though either of you would have done the same thing for me,” she said softly.  She looked past them and could see the others waiting for them.  “Go on, don’t be late.  I’ll take Naga to the market.  Shoo,” she demanded, ushering them out the front doors.

_Maybe they wouldn’t have saved you_ , she thought to herself.  _Why would they risk their lives for a girl they barely knew?_  She shoved her negative thoughts aside as she set out to find Naga.


	15. A Walk and A Talk

Tuesday was an in and out kind of shopper, usually making a list if she had more than a handful of things to remember, then crossing everything off one by one and getting out as quickly as possible.  Considering she didn’t know the layout of the store very well and some items on the list had to be substituted, Tuesday thought she made it out of there in record time.

Naga was a wonderful companion, and so smart.  She made the trip to the market easy; all Tuesday had to do was ask her to take her to Deshi’s.  Tuesday made a mental note to ask Korra more about her later.  She was really looking forward to spending the evening with her new friends, although she was worried they might want to delve too deeply into things she wasn’t ready to talk about.  She was practically a stranger and they had opened their door to her.  She slept across the hall from them for heaven’s sake, and yet she froze any time she thought one of their questions was going to hit her too hard emotionally.  She was afraid it would make her lose her composure all over again.

After she had returned to the manor and put away all the groceries, she retreated to her room and grabbed her guitar.  She wasn’t in a good or a bad place; she was somewhere in the middle.  As always, she was hoping the music would get her out of her funk before her roommates (is that what they were?) came home.  She wanted to have a good time tonight.

Meeting their family had been bittersweet for Tuesday.  It reminded her of what she didn’t have, but she felt a promise of what she could have here if she didn’t screw up, or curse everything, or whatever it was she did that made the universe take away everyone she ever loved.  She wanted to hold on to hope, but that was something she wasn’t very good at… at all.

She went out onto the terrace and sat in the one of the chairs and propped up her feet, crossing them at the ankles.  Her fingers sometimes knew what song she wanted to play before she did.  She had always wondered if her subconscious was a jukebox, and the song it chose would automatically play by her hands, much like what was happening at the moment.  

_There was a time when I was alone_  
_Nowhere to go and no place to call home_  
 _My only friend was the man in the moon_  
 _And even sometimes he would go away too_

As always, she was easily lost in the music, the one solid thing in her life that served as her therapy. 

_Run, run Lost Boy, they say to me_  
_Away from all of reality_  
 _Neverland is home to Lost Boys like me_  
 _And Lost Boys like me are free_  
 _Neverland is home to Lost Boys like me_  
 _And Lost Boys like me are free_

As Tuesday finished the song, a single tear rolled down her cheek.  Instead of wiping it away, she let it stay.  It had hope in it.  She may have found _her_ Neverland.

Tuesday jumped a little as she heard a throat clear, and turned to see Korra and Asami standing in the bedroom doorway.  Korra’s hand was still on the knob, as if they’d just entered, but it was obvious they had been listening.  She wasn’t bothered by it; she was used to them catching her during her performances at this point.

Even though she had been feeling a little down, her mood shifted when she saw the smiles on their faces.  Their grins were infectious and she felt her own lips pull into a matching smile.  “Hey guys,” she said softly.  “Seems as though you were listening in again.”  She wasn’t sure but she thought she saw pink spread across their cheeks as they walked into the room.  She found herself enjoying their blushes and decided to continue the playfulness.  “Stalking me when I’m singing… what’s next?  Watching me while I work out?”

Their jaws hit the floor and it was all she could do to not burst out laughing.  She’d never seen their eyes so wide or their faces so red.  “Naaah.  You guys would never do that,” she said mockingly.  Tuesday wondered how long she could keep this up, but that thought diminished as soon as Asami opened her mouth.

“Tuesday, I’m… we’re… sorry.  Um, I think we just, uh… I guess we were surprised to see you?” she gulped audibly and looked at Korra, searching her eyes for any indication of help.

“I was watching you hold your pose, and I sort of stared at your tattoos,” Korra blurted out.  Neither Tuesday nor Asami could hold back, and they both fell into a fit of laughter at the beautiful water tribe woman’s awkwardness.

“Ladies, come on, I don’t care.  I was very well aware of the windows, so I knew someone might see me at any time, but I enjoyed the view from where I was so much I didn’t care.  I waved at you two but you had already turned,” she shared. 

“You totally busted us.  Sorry if it was weird, we were going to say something to you but didn’t want to bother you,” Korra explained.  Her hand flew up to the back of her neck.  “We’re sorry.”

“Please, guys, don’t,” she said, a smile on her face.  “There really is no reason for you to feel bad.”

Their worried looks left their faces and smiles took their places.  “We actually have a gym and workout yard, if you’d like to see.  There’s anything you could possibly need for working out.  We should give you a tour anyhow, considering you’re going to be staying with us, right?” Asami asked, unsure of the answer.

It was Tuesday’s turn to feel uncomfortable.  “I don’t like to live off of anyone.  I mean, if I can find a job to pay you rent, I… I think I would really love it here.”

Asami shook her head as she met eyes with Korra before walking over to Tuesday.  Tuesday stilled as the raven-haired beauty placed a hand on her shoulder.  “We wanted you to stay before last night, and after saving my life, you owe me absolutely nothing.  I am the one indebted to you.  If you want to work, I understand that, but you will pay us nothing to stay here.”

“You can pay us in music!” Korra said cheerfully as she sat down on the chair opposite her. 

Tuesday sighed with resignation as she realized she was always going to lose arguments with these two simply by majority.  She would find ways to earn her stay here somehow.  An idea popped into her head.  She was with two of the most influential people in the city, wasn’t she?  Did Asami not own her company?

“Fair enough,” Tuesday surrendered, “but maybe you could help me find a job because I do want to work.  Come on,” she said while standing, sliding her guitar strap vertically until the guitar was resting against her back, “How about you two give me that tour while we talk about it.”

Korra jumped up, excited, and she grabbed Asami’s hand.  “Babe, you’re tour guide!”

Asami led them out and they followed, listening to her as she started pointing out the different wings of the manor and the fastest ways to reach certain rooms.  Korra stated she could easily show Tuesday the fastest way to the kitchen even if she was blindfolded, and the other two chortled.  For nearly an hour they walked around, Tuesday finally understanding the sheer size of the grounds and manor. 

They had finished the tour outside and Tuesday was soaking up the view when she felt the ground rumble beneath her.  Korra had earthbended a bench, and as they sat Asami patted the spot next to her, inviting Tuesday to join them.  She did.

The three of them sat in silence for a minute as Tuesday watched Asami’s hand as it held Korra’s so naturally and perfectly.  If it hadn’t been for the drastic difference in their skin tones, you wouldn’t be able to tell where one hand ended and the other began.  She found herself wanting to know more about them, but was hesitant to ask.  It wasn’t fair to ask those types of questions if she wasn’t willing to answer any about herself.  In the end, her desire to know more about them won out.

“So, may I ask how long you two have been together?” she started tentatively.

“It was officially three years when we were on our honeymoon, actually, though we fell in love before that,” Korra informed her, sighing dreamily.  “We met each other shortly after I first came to Republic City seven years ago.  I was part of a pro-bending team and she had met my teammate by hitting him with her motorbike.  I… sort of had a crush on him and they had started dating….” Korra grinned as she looked at her wife. 

“Korra ended up with him, though,” Asami continued.  “They were together for awhile, too.  I was little jealous, but I liked Korra so much, you know, just as a person, so selfless and brave and funny.  How could you stay upset at someone like her?” she shrugged.  “We went through so much in that first year as Team Avatar, and we were just teenagers,” she directed at Korra.

“It made us who we are, and I don’t think I would change anything,” Korra admitted before turning back to Tuesday.  “About six months later, Mako and I had a big fight where he ended it.  I was… gone… for a little while, and when I came back I had been through a lot spiritually.  So much inside of me had shifted- some bad, some good, but it was both because it was _truth_.  It was inner strength and self-realization.  I…” she gave Asami a look so deep it pulled Tuesday’s heartstrings, “…something inside me woke up.  I found myself gravitating toward Asami more and more.  It was so natural, and it still is.  I already had so much respect for her and cared deeply for her as a friend, but the day I noticed how close we were getting was the day I realized I loved her.  I had no idea what it meant, or if I should tell her, or what kind of love it was, but at least I saw it.  That unfortunately made it harder… later on,” Korra’s face was painted with pain, and Tuesday instinctively placed her hand on their two joined ones.

Asami picked up where Korra could not continue.  “She was badly hurt for a long time.  Three years, to be exact.  It was really hard on everyone, but not as hard as it was on Korra.”  Asami stared consolingly into her wife’s eyes.  “You came back from that a stronger person, Babe.”

A small smile grew on Tuesday’s lips as she observed the love between them.  In a way, they reminded her of her parents, who were always so good at showing their love for each other, always keeping each other strong.  Her chest clenched as a pain seared down her middle.  Her hand twitched involuntarily, and she hastened to get the smile back on her lips before her grimace was noticed. 

Their eyes locked onto hers simultaneously, and she couldn’t hold their gaze.  Not wanting them to worry, she squeezed their hands and ran her thumb across theirs.  Though the movement was initially made to be one of assurance, Tuesday discovered her skin was reacting in a different way.  What felt like a humming beneath her fingertips started to spread into her hand, and where she was touching the other two women began to pulse.  She stopped a gasp in her throat, refusing to let it be heard as she moved her hand off the other two inconspicuously.  She cleared her throat.  “So, uh, what happened then?  After Korra came back?”

Korra shook her head and closed her eyes, and Asami took it as a cue.  She sighed as she answered, “There were a lot of issues back then.  After Korra came back, there was more to be dealt with.  That one… was really bad… for a lot of people,” she paused, and Tuesday was sure she saw tears in her eyes.

“One what?” Tuesday whispered.

“War,” Korra answered.  “We were in three wars within a period of a year, then another one three years later.  You know,” she resigned, “I should just start at the beginning.  If you’re going to live here, you should know everything we and this city have gone through in the last several years.”

Korra pulled Asami closer to her and began to speak.  Her voice was clear and she spoke with her hands a lot; Tuesday could see her culture in the way she told a story.  She listened intently to everything that had occurred with Korra, Asami and their friends over the last seven years.  Tuesday found out about the White Lotus guards that practically raised Korra as the Avatar and not really a person, and she learned what Asami went through with her mother, then father, then father again.  Amon, Korra’s uncle and Vaatu, Zaheer and Kuvira… it frightened yet amazed her that these two young women had been through what they had.  They deserved some peace and happiness.  Tuesday would do anything she could to help them be happy and safe.  She cared that much for them already.

By the time Korra finished speaking, the sun had set and only an orange line of light could be seen on the horizon.  The orange faded into pink, then purple before growing a darker shade of blue.  The first stars were starting to twinkle, and Tuesday looked for familiar constellations and was surprised when she couldn’t find any. 

Asami chuckled as she heard Korra’s stomach grumble.  She looked at Tuesday warmly and asked, “Were you able to go to the market?  I think it’s about time we feed this one.”

It had been a long time since she had prepared a meal for anyone other than herself, and she felt a little giddy.  “I did.  I’m really excited,” she confessed.   She looked away shyly as her next thoughts became verbal.  “I know it was hard for you two to relive your past just now just to share it with me.  Those are heinous things to live through, but I’m so thankful you two are here, and you’re together, and you’re whole.  Thank you.  I… uh,” she began to stammer as she tried to hold back a blush and failed miserably, “I want to know everything I can about you.”  She stood up quickly and offered them a hand each.  They smiled and politely took them to stand.  Tuesday still couldn’t quite look them in the eye as she said, “Okay, Korra, it’s your time to shine.  Which way to the kitchen?”

Asami cackled as Korra’s face lit up.  She placed herself sideways next to Tuesday, so that they were both facing Asami.  “I want you to try something.  This is considered intermediate slash advanced airbending, but let’s try it anyway.”  Korra moved her arms the slightest bit and shifted her body ever so subtly and a ball of spinning air popped up underneath her.  She grinned smugly as she sat atop it, arms and legs crossed.  “Now you try.”

“That is wicked awesome, Korra, but I barely even caught your movements.  I need baby steps,” Tuesday admitted.  She tried to mimic the moves she somewhat registered and barely a breeze was felt.  “Yep.  Teach me to walk before trying to teach me to run, Sensei,” she chuckled and the other two women followed suit.  Korra hopped off her air ball and it dissipated. 

“I’m too hungry to press the lesson.  To the kitchen!” she exclaimed as they set out.


	16. Wine and a Proposal

“Spirits, that smells so good,” Korra groaned.  “What is this called again?”

“Fajitas, although it is somewhat a modified version, considering food here isn’t exactly the same as where I come from,” Tuesday explained.  “So this is a first for me, in a way, too.”  Asami grinned as Tuesday turned to smile at them over her shoulder, her arms working over the stove. 

She and Korra sat at the breakfast bar while Tuesday worked in the kitchen.  The way she moved around made it seem like she’d done a lot of cooking before.  Asami wondered if she should press her luck in trying to find out more about their houseguest.

“You seem to know your way around a kitchen really well,” she risked.

Tuesday was silent as her hands continued to stir and season.  She had the benefit of them being at her back, so Asami couldn’t read her face.  _Damn it, I went too far_ , she thought, frustrated with herself.  The apology was almost at her lips when Tuesday spoke.

“I had been shown a lot growing up, but I really developed a knack for it in college,” she said before falling silent.

Here’s something she could work with.  “May I ask what you went to school for?” Asami asked politely.

Tuesday’s beautiful grin made another appearance over her shoulder.  “Take a guess.”

“Music,” Korra answered, smiling. 

“Correct!  You win a prize.”  Tuesday took a pair of clean chopsticks and grabbed a bit of the food from the pan.  She held her hand underneath as she blew on it a few times then checked it for steam.  She started towards Korra, but paused before turning towards Asami.

“Um, can I… is it okay if I fe… may I give this to your wife?” Tuesday’s stormy eyes looked to her for permission.

Asami giggled.  “Go for it.  You’re going to make her a very happy woman.”

Korra leaned up on the barstool and took the bite off the chopsticks.  For some reason Asami found the moment strangely exciting.  _Wow, that’s… interesting_.

 Korra’s ocean blue eyes grew wide as she chewed and she looked Tuesday square in the eyes.  “You’re hired!  This is outrageous!”

Tuesday laughed as she walked back to the stove to stir the pan.  She reached back in with the chopsticks and grabbed another bite, cooling it as she had done previously and carrying it to Asami.  She turned to Korra.

“Don’t even ask.  The only thing I’m jealous of is she’s getting that bite and I’m not,” Korra fake pouted.

Still confused from her reaction to Tuesday feeding Korra, Asami watched the chopsticks then closed her eyes, refusing to look Tuesday in the eyes.  What tasted like a million different matching flavors spilled across her taste buds and she looked at her wife, nodding her head as she chewed.  Unlike her wife, she waited until she’d finished chewing and swallowing before giving proper praises.  She turned back toward Tuesday and found she was able to look at her again.  _Thank the spirits._   “That is delicious, Tuesday,” she delivered as she smiled genuinely at the woman. 

“Thank you.  I’m glad you enjoy it,” she said graciously as she gave her a sideways grin.

“So, your sweatpants the other night said ‘Berklee’ on them.  Is that where you attended college?” Asami pressed.

Tuesday piled the food from the pan onto a serving plate.  She sat it on the counter before turning to face them, crossing her arms and leaning back against the counter.  She eyed Asami while giving her a sly grin.  “Someone’s perspicacious,” and Asami blushed as Tuesday winked at her.  “Yes.  I attended Berklee College of Music.  I was a Performance Major.  I enjoyed learning there so much I considered going back for a degree in Film Scoring right after I graduated, but it wasn’t in the cards,” she said.  Asami was unable to read her mood at the moment, as if she were intentionally trying to seem indifferent.  “You guys want to eat here?” she asked as she pointed at the bar.

“Here is good,” Korra replied eagerly.  Tuesday chuckled as she put the serving plate down in front of Korra before changing her mind and sliding it in front of Asami.  She grinned at Korra, and Asami’s lips turned up into her own.

Tuesday went back for plates and another serving plate holding small round flatbread.  She placed it next to the other serving tray and grabbed one of the breads.  She took chopsticks and piled some of the food from the other plate onto it before rolling it up and placing it on Korra’s plate.  “No offense,” she said to Asami.

“None taken,” she replied, as she winked at the young woman.  Pink danced across her freckles, and Asami couldn’t help but grin mischievously.  She looked at Korra and noticed her attention seemed to be focused on the blush across Tuesday’s cheeks.  _Hmm.  I’m not the only one with a fixation_ , Asami thought.  _Korra and I are going to have a chat later._

Despite her blush, Tuesday carried on as if nothing could make her happier than serving this meal to the two of them.  She prepared a fajita for Asami and placed it on her plate.  “Hot sauce,” she said as she placed a bottle on the bar between them.  She went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle.  She grabbed three glasses and set them down on the counter before filling them with the dark liquid from the bottle.  “Blueberry wine,” she told them as she set a glass in front of each plate. 

Taking a sip, Korra hummed.  “This is the same wine from the other night,” she stated.

Asami smelled the wine and took a sip.  It immediately made her think of spring.  It was glorious.  “Oh spirits,” she sighed, “I could drink a whole bottle of that.”

“Well, you may have to settle for two thirds of a bottle, because I only brought two,” Tuesday said, taking her seat next to Asami. 

The three of them shared the meal as if they’d done it a thousand times before.  They talked between bites and laughed comfortably with each other.  Asami loved the sound of Tuesday’s laugh, and she adored it when she and Korra laughed in sync. 

When they had finished, Asami got up and put the food away and Korra gathered the dishes.  Korra washed, Tuesday rinsed, and she dried as they continued their conversation. 

“So what sort of work are you looking for?  I’m not sure how much work is available here for musicians,” Korra said, turning her face to Tuesday.  Asami caught her gaze and Korra gave her a huge grin and a wink.  _Mm… that woman._

Tuesday watched her hands in the sink as she answered.  “I was thinking that if it is okay with you, Asami,” those intense blue-grey eyes turned to gaze at her, “I could work at one of your garages.  I can do basic things like oil changes, brakes, tires, and I can be an errand runner, I don’t care.  It’s something, and maybe with that I can save up to do what I really want.”

She studied Tuesday’s face as she inquired, “What do you really want?”

“I’ve always wanted to have my own venue where musicians and bands could play.  Maybe give some lessons and form a few bands to play there myself.  It’s what I was doing when…” Asami watched as Tuesday’s eyes looked like they were turning into actual storms as they filled with what seemed to be pain, “That’s what I did after I graduated college, though the venue wasn’t mine.”  Asami wanted to reach out and embrace her, and she met eyes with Korra around the side of Tuesday’s face and frowned.  Suddenly she had an idea. 

She was so excited at her thought she grabbed Tuesday’s shoulder and spun the shorter woman around to face her.  “Jinora told me Kai said the entertainment in Republic City has been hurting.  I have a plot of land downtown that I haven’t known what I wanted to do with… so let’s build this venue!  You could handle the entertainment, I could handle the business.  What do you think?”

“You would go into business with me after knowing me for two days?  What if the music from my world isn’t popular here?” she asked quietly.

“We like it, I’m sure others will too.  As for going into business with you, I… Tuesday, we trust you.  We wouldn’t have allowed you into our home if we didn’t.  It’s like we told you before, we’ve learned to listen when the spirits are speaking, and they told us we’re bound to you.  We love what we know of you and the way you are, so for me, it’s a no-brainer.  Korra?” she looked to her wife, knowing she felt the same way and would tell Tuesday so.

“Are you kidding?  That’s such an exciting idea!  I’m ready for this place to open tomorrow!” she exclaimed.

* * *

 

“So I was at this bar one night, right?  And I look to my left and there’s a real life pirate standing next to me, I mean, this guy had the hat, the eye patch, the gold tooth, and the peg leg.  And I notice this pirate has a big round ship’s wheel shoved down the front of his pants.  So I say to him, ‘Hey man, are you really a pirate?’ and he said, ‘Aye.’  And then I was like, ‘You do realize you have a ship’s wheel shoved down the front of your pants,’ and he said, ‘Aye.  It’s drivin’ me nuts.’”

Korra laughed loudly into the night, and her voice carried across the grounds.  Tuesday had been telling them ‘Dad Jokes’ and Korra couldn’t wait to share them with her father.  Tonraq loved these types of jokes.

After dinner the three ladies found themselves sitting on the terrace outside Korra and Asami’s room.  Korra had requested Tuesday play a few songs, and she bashfully obliged.

When they reached the terrace, however, they continued chatting as they had been all night, and it led into jokes.  They were well into the second bottle of wine now, and Korra found herself wishing there was more.

“Tuesday, you have to bring more of this back with you,” she said as she finished her third glass. 

She could hear the hurt in Tuesday’s voice as she replied, “There aren’t many bottles of that wine left in existence, but I’ll bring more.  It’s more fun sharing it than drinking it alone, anyway.”

“If there aren’t many left, why are we drinking them?”  Korra asked.

“Because it’s my favorite, and I enjoy drinking it on special occasions.”

“What’s the special occasion?” Asami inquired, seeming to already know the answer, but wanting to hear it.

“New friends, new life, new experiences.  I have hope, I have ambition again,” Tuesday replied, a small but warm smile on her lips.

“Cheers to that!” Asami exclaimed as she downed the last of her third glass.  “Okay, Tuesday, we’re waiting on you to finish your third before we pour our fourth.”

Tuesday upped her glass and the dark liquid vanished.  She handed it to Asami.  “Are you two trying to get me drunk?” 

Korra’s head snapped up at the same time Asami’s did.  Tuesday had a sly grin on her face as she added, “Cuz it’s working!” 

Asami giggled and Korra looked at her wife.  She shrugged and gave her a lop-sided grin.  Just then, she remembered something.  “Oh!  Tuesday… would you mind sharing some of that smoke with us?  I didn’t have any nightmares after going back to bed last night.  I’m hoping it’ll work for the whole night this time.”

“For sure!  Hold on, I’ll go get it,” she handed Asami her guitar as she left the terrace.

When Korra was sure Tuesday was out of earshot, she rounded on her wife.  “Okay, is it just me, or do the three of us flirt with each other?” she asked casually.

“It’s funny you say that,” Asami replied, keeping her voice low, “because I’ve noticed that too.  I was actually going to bring it up to you.”

“Does it bother you?” Korra said, leaning over in her chair so she could watch the bedroom door.

“No, and I’m surprised.  I’m surprised at both of us, honestly.  We’ve both exhibited jealousy in the past.”

Korra’s eyes turned away from the door to devote her gaze to her wife.  “Why do you think that is?  I mean, I know how much I love you, how much you love me, and how we’ll never stop working to be together.  Maybe in knowing those things, I have no reason to feel jealous?” she speculated.  “That and I can’t see Tuesday’s flirting not being innocent.”

“You hit the nail on the head, Babe,” Asami agreed.  “I know where you’re going to be at the end of the day, and that’s in my arms.” 

“Mmm,” was all she could manage to get out, her mind having visualized being in her wife’s arms, nude, their bodies pressed together, legs tangled.

“Okay,” Tuesday said from the bedroom door as she walked in, startling the newlyweds.

As she walked out onto the terrace she handed Korra the bubbler and opened a bottle of water.  Korra already knew what she needed of her, so she bended the water from the bottle into the piece.  Tuesday closed the bottle and placed it next to the chair in which she’d been sitting, then held out her hand to Asami for the guitar.  Tuesday smiled at her and softly said, “Thank you,” as she handed it to her carefully. 

Korra lit a flame with her fingers and sparked the bowl.  “As you get used to it, you’ll be able to hold a hit for longer, and that’s a good thing,” Tuesday explained to her.  Korra passed to Tuesday, and the musician pulled a lighter out of her pocket.  She took her turn and passed to Asami.  “Let’s just take one for now, because we’ve been drinking.  If you drink before smoking, it can be easy to get the ‘spins’.  We don’t want that.”

Korra shook her head vigorously.  “I’ve gotten those just from alcohol.  That was NOT a fun evening,” she recalled. 

“It was the one occasion I held your hair instead of you holding mine,” Asami remembered.  “You know, opening up this venue will allow us to enjoy the youth we didn’t quite get, Korra.”

She nodded her head.  “I’ve thought about that.”

Tuesday was beaming at them, her guitar nestled in her lap.  “You two are amazing,” she said, voice barely above a whisper. 

The Avatar tilted her head and dropped her brows as she asked, “What makes you say that?”

Tuesday strummed her guitar once before answering.  “Do you know how cool it is to know such strong women?  The two of you are remarkable with everything you’ve accomplished at such a young age.  I feel so… special, so honored to be in your company.  It’s hard for me to believe I’ve done anything to deserve what I’ve been receiving the last couple of days.  But I feel so much hope in all of this,” she stated, looking at Asami’s face, and then Korra’s, before focusing on the city in the distance.

Her fingers started to move across the strings, and Korra stilled at the sound.  She loved to watch the guitarist’s long, skilled fingers on the strings and loved it even more when Tuesday’s mouth opened, beauty and emotion spilling past her full, pink lips.

The song was slow, but the words full of the hope she was feeling.  It resonated through Korra as a song she could relate to.  She looked at her wife whose eyes were set on the singing girl.  There was a shimmer in those bright green eyes, one Korra knew was in her own blue eyes as well when she looked at their new friend.  Something deep had already been established between the three of them, and Korra looked forward to more time spent with the two beautiful women that formed her current company.

_Have you felt the longing in a seed?_  
_Have you felt it swimming in its need?_  
 _Pushing through into the light_  
 _Then you know what I’m sayin’_  
 _When I’m sayin’ it’s gonna be alright_  
 _You just got to take your lemons_  
 _And make your lemonade_  
 _Have your rainy parade_  


_Listen to the beating of the drum_  
_Look at the smiles on everyone_  
 _Who says it’s better to be dry?_  
 _The mighty oak trees are so happy right now_  
 _They could cry_  
 _So you best better take your lemons_  
 _And make your lemonade_  
 _Have your rainy parade_

* * *

 

It was starting to get late, and Asami knew pretty soon they’d have to break up the fun.  They’d smoked again after finishing the wine and the three of them had settled into a relaxed conversation about the venue they were going to build together.  Asami was thrilled to see so much excitement emanating from Tuesday.

“Tomorrow, after I meet with my board, I’m going to get Korra and we’re coming to get you.  I want to go down to the plot and see if we can get the ball rolling,” Asami stated, mind going into business mode.  “We’ll put up signs and post an advertisement in the paper for you to hold auditions,” she said, looking at Tuesday.  “Tomorrow, while we’re at work, would you mind making a list of job positions you know you’ll require?  I’ll take care of waitresses, bartenders, bar-backs, so on, and you take care of sound and stage crew, bands, and such.  Actually,” she remembered, “I have your light and sound guy.  Jinora’s boyfriend Kai is the best in town for that.”

“Oh good!  It’s nice having someone on board who knows what they’re doing,” Tuesday said.  “I’m going to be so nervous that first night.”

“You’ve performed a hundred times before.  You’ll be fine.  It’ll come back to you,” Korra assured her.  “You should play us another song.”

“I will in a few minutes, when we all go to bed,” Tuesday laughed.  Korra smiled, satisfied.  “Do you two think that we could go to my portal tomorrow?  It’s going to be a pain, there are a lot of instruments, but I’m going to need them if we’re doing this,” she explained.  “And I figured since I’m going back, I can get more blueberry wine, too,” she added, a playful grin on her lips.

“Fine by me; I’d be happy to help,” Korra said.  “You up for it, Babe?  We could borrow an air bison.”

“Yeah, that’s a great idea.  I’ll have a work truck parked outside the portal to load up so the bison isn’t carrying it the whole way to the manor,” Asami stated. 

“Do you two want to do yoga with me tomorrow morning before you leave?” Tuesday asked quietly and out of the blue. 

“I will,” Asami answered, looking at the girl.  “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I was just thinking that it’d be nice to have some work out buddies.  I want to get in better shape considering I’m going to be going through airbending training,” she replied.

“I’m going to Air Temple Island the day after tomorrow,” Korra chimed in, “You should come with me.”

“Okay,” Tuesday agreed.  “I’m nervous about that, too,” she admitted.

“That’s normal, but I’ll be teaching you,” Korra said, smiling at Tuesday.  Her only answer was a blush.

The musician started to play, and Asami watched as her wife’s smile grew larger.  It was another slow song, deep and swaying, and Asami closed her eyes and felt the music as Tuesday worked her magic.

_When the night has come_  
_And the land is dark_  
 _And the moon is the only light we’ll see_  
 _No I won’t be afraid, no I won’t be afraid_  
 _Just as long as you stand, stand by me_  
 _So darlin’ darlin’ stand by me_  
 _Oh stand by me, oh stand now_  
 _Stand by me, stand by me_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted a longer chapter in honor or Korrasami Week :)


	17. Tuesday's Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra long chapter, as promised. ;)
> 
> And guess what?  
> I've decided to post a second one tonight, too.
> 
> Muah, babes. xoxo

“NOO!  MARA!”

Korra jolted upright and sprang out of bed, dressing within seconds and lighting a fire in her hand.  She strained her ears for any sound as she crept out of their room and into the hallway.  She felt Asami grab her unlit hand from behind her, and she squeezed it as she walked up to Tuesday’s bedroom door.  Gut-wrenching sobs could be heard on the other side of the door.  Worried, she looked back at her wife.  “Do you think we should just go in?” Korra whispered.

Worry knit Asami’s brows together, and as she nodded, another wail came from within the room.  They could barely make out the name being spoken amidst the sobbing. 

“Ma…ra, no.”

Korra extinguished the flame and stepped quietly into the room.  “Tuesday?”

The weeping woman didn’t answer; she continued to sob quietly. 

Asami turned on a lamp over in the far corner of the room, and Korra was able to see Tuesday’s face.  “She’s crying in her sleep,” she gasped.  Her hand brought itself to cover her mouth in shock as she felt Asami come up behind her.  Tuesday was on her side, her knees halfway to her chest, her arms around her torso as if she were trying to hold herself together.  Korra turned to meet her wife’s gaze and saw the sadness in her eyes.  “Should we wake her?” Korra whispered.

Instead of answering her, Asami walked past her and took one of Tuesday’s hands in hers.  She took her free hand and placed it gently on the weeping woman’s shoulder.  “Tuesday,” she whispered, “Sweetie, wake up.  You’re having a nightmare.”  Tuesday’s breathing shuddered as the tears stopped spilling from her eyes.  Korra leaned over next to her wife, placing a hand on her back. 

“Hey, Tuesday,” Korra said softly, “know any more pirate jokes?”  She found she couldn’t help herself as she tucked back a long strand of hair that had fallen into the stormy-eyed beauty’s face.  She watched as Asami’s hand gently squeezed the girl’s shoulder.  Green and blue eyes watched as Tuesday’s long eyelashes fluttered before opening fully.  It seemed to take her a minute to realize who was there with her, and she buried her face into her pillow when it seemed to register. 

“Hey,” Korra pleaded, her voice just above a whisper, “Let us be here for you.” 

Tuesday simply shook her head briefly.  She pulled her face from the pillow and sniffled as she sat up.  “I’m sorry I woke you two,” she said, her voice hoarse.  Fresh tears threatened to fall from her eyes, and Korra reached out to take her other hand, but Tuesday pulled away and pulled her other hand from Asami’s.  “I’m scared,” she said, her eyes squeezing shut, tears once again spilling over. 

“That’s normal, you just had a nightmare,” Korra said, sitting on the edge of the bed, Asami nestling in behind her.

“I lose everyone I care about.  What if I’m cursed and something happens to you two?” Tuesday asked, her hands covering her face as a sob escaped her throat.

“Hey, we’re not going anywhere,” Asami spoke softly.  “And you’re not cursed.  You’re free to make your life what you choose, and we’re going to be a part of it as long as you want us to be.”

“You two have no idea how much I want you to be,” she whispered, looking up at Korra with teary eyes before searching for Asami’s face.  “You don’t know how long it has been since I felt this happy.”

Korra studied Tuesday’s face as she made a decision.  “Scoot over,” she said. 

“What?”

“Scoot over,” Korra repeated.  “We’re sandwiching you for comfort.”

“Please don’t let me keep you…” Tuesday started.

“Scoot!”

Tuesday gave a shuddering sigh as she obliged, and Korra moved to where she was sitting on Tuesday’s right side, her back against the headboard.  Asami crawled to the other side of the bed and placed herself in the same position on the other side.  “Now you’re in a friend sandwich,” Korra said, her ocean blue eyes gazing into slate blue.

Tuesday’s ghost smile reappeared for the first time in three days.  As quickly as it came, it was gone.  Korra gently leaned into Tuesday’s shoulder, and she felt her wife’s hand on her shoulder as Asami placed an arm around the woman in the middle.  “Tuesday,” Korra began, “talk to us.  We want to know what we can do to help you, and we _can_ help you.  You just have to let us.”

Tears spilled from Tuesday’s eyes, but she took a deep breath and nodded.  She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.  She wiped her eyes and cleared her throat.  “What do you want to know?”

“Would you like to talk about your nightmare?” Asami asked tentatively.  Tuesday cringed and shook her head, and Korra’s heart was warmed by her wife’s compassion as she pulled the woman closer to her. 

“Tuesday,” Korra whispered, “will you tell me who Mara is?”

Sobs wracked the girl’s frame as she lost her composure.  Her body slumped into Asami’s, and her arms squeezed her tighter.  Korra motioned for Asami to move away from the headboard, and Korra positioned herself behind the two embraced women, wrapping them both in her warm arms.  Asami rested her head on Korra’s shoulder as she held the crying woman. 

They stayed in that position for a few minutes, and Korra had pretty much resigned to the fact that Tuesday still wasn’t ready to talk about these things when she finally answered her question.

“Mara was my daughter.”

Korra’s stomach dropped at Tuesday’s words, and she heard the quiet gasp that came from her wife.  _She said ‘was’.  Spirits,_ she thought.

Her words displayed the pain she felt for her new friend as she pulled her closer and said, “Oh Tuesday, I know saying sorry isn’t enough, but I am.  I’m so sorry.”  She paused.  “Is that what happened two years ago?”

Tuesday wiped the tears from her eyes and she straightened herself up in their arms.  She adjusted herself and exhaled, and a small but warm smile crossed her face when the girl leaned back into her and her wife.  Both Korra and Asami tightened their hold on her, all the while making sure their touch was gentle and decompressing.

Her answer was again a little slow coming, but it came nonetheless.  “Yes.  She would have adored you two.”

Once again Korra was overwhelmed with love for her wife as Asami placed a kiss on top of Tuesday’s head.  It was a little strange, she thought, how close they felt to this woman, but it was undeniable.  It was like she was a piece of their very large puzzle they didn’t realize was missing until they met her, and now she was in her proper place. 

_But we don’t hold Jinora or Opal like this…_

Suddenly she was very aware of the two women in her arms.  She closed her eyes and calmed herself, wanting to avoid anyone noticing her pounding heart and erratic breathing.  She forced out a question, hoping to alter her train of thought.  “May I ask… what did she look like?”

Tuesday sat up and leaned over Korra’s leg to reach her bedside table.  She put her hand into the drawer and withdrew a small book and brought it over to them as she nestled herself back into her previous position.  The cover of the book was a little worn, but its decorative details were still intricate.  She opened the book, and there was Mara, looking up from the page with a snaggle-toothed grin.  Korra knew just from looking at her that she belonged to Tuesday.  The shape of her face, eyes and smile were identical to Tuesday’s, and she had her mother’s curls.  Mara’s hair was also dark, but a shade of auburn instead of brown, and the same tiny freckles that Korra found so pretty on Tuesday covered the little girl’s cheeks as well.  Her skin tone must’ve belonged to her father, as Mara’s skin was a pale almond shade, completely devoid of the pink in her mother’s skin tone, but looking into the little girl’s eyes was like looking into Tuesday’s- long, thick eyelashes and tiny stormy orbs. 

Asami’s hand touched the picture, and Korra saw a tear fall down her cheek.  She kissed her wife’s forehead.  Asami looked at Tuesday as she spoke.  “She looks so much like you.  She’s beautiful,” she whispered.

Tuesday turned the page of the picture book.  The picture on the left was of Tuesday holding Mara as a toddler, both of them beaming at the camera.  In the photo, Tuesday’s face already showed some weariness, but nothing compared to what she carried now.  On the right was a picture of Tuesday holding Mara as a baby, with what was obviously her family posed beside and behind her.  She was an almost a perfect mixture of her mother and father, and the other man in the picture was obviously Tuesday’s brother, as his feature’s also matched that of his parents, though in a slightly different way from his sister.  Tuesday sighed as more tears fell from her eyes.  “I’m the only one left,” she whispered, closing the book. 

Pain ripped through Korra as the severity of Tuesday’s words hit her.  They were all gone?  Had they all died?  Asami had lost her whole family too, Korra thought.  Asami was one step ahead of her.

“Tuesday, I know what it feels like to lose your parents,” she started, “so I am always here for you to talk to about that, if you wish.  But I’m afraid I cannot imagine what it felt like… losing Mara.  You can talk to me about that, too, of course, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to offer much more than comfort.”

Korra was still trying to grasp what losing your family could possibly feel like.  If something happened to Asami, or her mother or father, she would be a wreck, not to mention everyone else in her extended family.  The weight of that sort of pain had to be unbearable.  “Can we be your family?” Korra asked, using her strong arms to pull the two women closer, if at all possible.

Tuesday nodded.  “I think I’d like that,” she whispered.  “And if that’s the case, I should tell you everything.  It’s only fair, as you two have shared everything openly with me.  Besides, if I get it out now, the hard part will be over.”

Korra shook her head.  “Tuesday, you don’t have to.  Take your time.”

Curls fell onto Korra’s arm as the broken woman turned to face them.   “No,” she said.  “I’m ready.”

* * *

 

Tuesday hadn’t talked about what happened that day since she was forced to talk to shrinks about it right after it happened.  They had put her on all sorts of medication, supposedly for her grief, and had her sit in rooms with various doctors for hours on end, trying to coax anything out of her when all she wanted was to curl into a ball and die. 

But now, in this room, in the comfort of the arms of these two kind women, holding her like she’d always been a part of them, Tuesday finally felt the courage she needed to tell them about her past.

“I grew up in Winchester, Massachusetts, not too far from the city of Boston, which I suppose you could say is the Republic City of Massachusetts,” Tuesday began.  “My mother inherited the tiny family farm when my grandfather died, and we grew clover and had an apiary.  Both of my parents were musicians, my mother could play classical piano like nothing I’ve still ever heard.  She taught me and my older brother, Dewey.  He was two years older than me, and although we annoyed each other at times, I can’t recall any bad fight ever happening between us.  He was so protective of me.”

“While Mom was a pianist, Dad was a percussionist.  He’s the one who taught me drums.  He was wicked good, but he always said I was better, though I never believed him.  Dad had a full Irish accent, which is why I must sound so funny to you two, considering I have a mix of two accents.”

“When I was four, two major moments in my life occurred:  My parents gave me my first acoustic guitar, and I made my first friend at preschool.  Her name was Chloe.  We hit it off immediately, and when we found out she lived down the road from me, we’d spend every day after school together, either at her house or mine or riding our bikes or horses back and forth.  Our birthdays were within a week of each other, and we had birthday parties together, spent summers together, played on the same sports teams together.  We were as inseparable as two girls that had to go home most nights could be, and it continued up through high school.  The only time Chloe didn’t get from me was the time I spent dedicating myself to music.  Dewey had given me a bass guitar on my thirteenth birthday, and he taught me to play, and it quickly became another love of mine.”

“When I was a freshman in high school, I met Joel.  He was a junior, so handsome, and really smart.  He played alto saxophone, and we were in band together.  I was in advanced placement classes and we had a few of those together also.  One day, we ended up being assigned as partners for a lab project, so we decided to meet at the library after school to work on it.  By the time the library closed that night, I was crazy about him.  He drove me home later that evening, and I could tell he wanted to kiss me, but it didn’t happen then.  It didn’t happen until we got our grades back from the project.  We had received a perfect grade, and he turned to me and asked me out.  I said yes, of course.”

“We went out to dinner and talked.  He didn’t act like a lot of other guys.  He wanted to go to school to be a doctor.  His parents were crazy religious, and they didn’t believe in vaccinations and shots.  The only reason he was able to go to public school was because he had emancipated himself from his parents, until then, he had been home schooled because of their outrageous beliefs.  His younger brother had died several years earlier from something that would have been completely avoided with a single shot, and that’s what inspired him to be a doctor.  Anyway, when he drove me home that night, I kissed him, and from then on, it was us, with Chloe and whomever she was dating at the time.  We had some great times, dances, sports, field trips, summers… I’ll never forget those years, even though they’re very bittersweet.”

“After Dewey graduated high school, he enlisted into the Army without telling Mom and Dad.  They were not happy at all, but supportive of our decisions as they’d always been.  I didn’t like it, either.  I know sometimes war is necessary, and we need a military, but we were raised as pacifists.  We always felt some conflicts could be resolved without violence, and that should always be tried first.  Either way, I suppose we felt differently about it than Dewey did, and he took off to boot camp.”

“Right before the beginning of my junior year of high school, Joel and I moved him into his dorm room at Boston University.  He was Pre-Med and really excited.  We knew it was going to be tough seeing each other, his course load was no joke, and we knew most weekends he’d be stuck studying or doing homework, so his first weekend in the dorm, I stayed with him.”  Tuesday sighed deeply.  “And that was the weekend I got pregnant.”

“I didn’t really start feeling it until my basketball team made regionals, so I thought it was just nerves.  We took a bus to our game and stayed overnight because we had won, so we had more games to play.  That morning in the hotel I was so sick, and Chloe joked around and said something about me being knocked up.  And that’s when I realized she was probably right.”

“I walked in my front door the next day, went straight up to my Mom and told her I thought I was pregnant.  She was mad at first, and understandably so.  I had come to her about six months prior when I had decided I was ready to… well, be with Joel… and she had taken me to get my birth control.  She knew I had to have skipped a few days for this to happen, and she was right.  I was irresponsible, but I’ll never regret it.”

Tuesday paused for a moment and leaned over Korra to reach her water bottle, but before her fingers could grab it, Korra handed it to her.  “Thank you,” she said.  She took a sip and tossed the bottle on the bed in front of her.  “Are you two comfortable?  We could move if you need to,” she offered.

“Get back here, you,” Asami said, holding open her arms.

 Tuesday balked.  “You guys have work in the morning, and I’m keeping you up.  I’m feeling really bad about that.”

“Come on, we went to bed fairly early, especially for us,” Korra said, motioning between her and her wife.  “What’s another hour?”

Tuesday crawled back into the comfort of Korra and Asami’s arms.  She felt their muscles relax, so she rested her weight comfortably into them as well.  Their tender hands rested on various points of her body, and even though there was the layer of clothing between them, Tuesday’s nerve endings caught fire.  She closed her eyes and tried to remember where she left off.  She exhaled as she remembered.

“So we went to the doctor, and sure enough, there they were,” she whispered.

Tuesday felt the two bodies surrounding her jump as they processed her words.  A shuddering sigh escaped her before she continued.  “Twins.  I was sixteen and pregnant with twins, and my boyfriend had just started college.  Needless to say, it wasn’t an ideal situation.  But I didn’t care.  I knew I’d never give up music or school; I knew I was just going to have to work a lot harder at everything.  I accepted that.”

“We told Dad that night, and that weekend I drove to Boston and told Joel.  He freaked out.  He asked me if I was intentionally trying to ruin his future.  He yelled a lot, but I stopped listening when his voice reached a certain decibel.  I wasn’t accustomed to handling things that way.  My parents never yelled at each other, unless they did it when Dewey and I weren’t around.  I told him he didn’t have to do anything he didn’t want to do and I left.”

“He showed up three weeks later, begging for forgiveness, and I gave it to him.  He asked me if I wanted to get married, and I told him no.  I’ve never really felt the need for marriage.  If I know someone loves me truly, I feel as though that would be enough for me.  He wasn’t mad, in fact, I’m pretty sure he was relieved.  I told him he didn’t need to change his life, but just be active when he could, if that’s what he wanted, and that’s what we agreed upon.  He went to a sonogram appointment with me, and we found out we had a son and a daughter.  We named them Charles Reese and Mara Claire.”

“Not long after I entered my third trimester, I started having a lot of problems.  Shortness of breath, vertigo… they hospitalized me when they discovered my blood pressure was way out of whack.  They wouldn’t let me go home, there was just too much going wrong, and two weeks later, I went into labor.”  Tuesday stilled as fresh tears dropped from her eyes.   “My heart rate dropped drastically, so they took me in for an emergency C-section.  I was unconscious, but the doctor told me Mara came out screaming.  As much as I wish I could have heard her, I am glad I wasn’t awake, because Reese was… he didn’t make it.”

Tuesday’s insides gnarled and twisted and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to make it stop.  Tears fell openly for the son she never got to hold, never got to kiss, never got to know at all. 

Several minutes passed before she could speak again.  When she was finally able, her voice was brittle.  “Mara was the raft that held everything afloat.  I thought I loved Joel, but when I held Mara the first time, I fell in love, and I fell in love hard.  Every song I played was about her, everything I did, I did for her.  Dewey came home on leave and the first time he held her he told me he’d finally met a girl prettier than me.  That was around the time that picture you saw was taken,” Tuesday explained.  “That was also the last time any of us saw Dewey.  He left for his first deployment shortly after, and a few weeks after he’d been there an explosion killed him and four other soldiers,” Tuesday found her body involuntarily trying to curl up on itself from the pain coursing through her veins.  _Keep going, get everything out now and it’ll be done_ , she told herself. 

“Mom and Dad weren’t really the same after that.  From the moment they processed his death, there was always sadness behind their eyes or in their voice.  After Mara… I saw it in my own face, and heard it in my own voice.”  She sighed, and took another sip of water.  “But I’m getting ahead of myself.”

“My senior year of high school came and went quickly, and it was a great year.  Chloe was adamantly present in Mara’s life.  She spent more time with Mara than Joel did, though Joel loved his little girl.  I had been accepted at Berklee, and Chloe was going to Boston University.  Since I had Mara, I couldn’t really move into the dorms, so Chloe, her cousin Remy, Mara and I got an apartment in the city.”

“The day we were moving, Joel was quiet, and I knew what was coming.  I had been feeling it for awhile, the pregnancy, college, and Reese’s death had taken its toll on our relationship, and once I even told him he was falling out of love with me, but he denied it.  But at the end of that day, after Mara was in bed, I turned to him and told him something along the lines of ‘Look, I’ll do it, so you don’t have to.  You don’t love me anymore, and I still love you but I’m not in love with you.  Let’s just end this here and try our best to be good parents together.’  He didn’t say anything.  He just kissed me and left.”

“He stayed in Mara’s life, and for that I was grateful for our daughter’s sake.  We got along fine, and I was doing great in college.  We had so much fun at the apartment, and Chloe basically raised Mara with me.  We went home on the weekends… life had given us some tragedies, but we were working through them, you know, me, Mom and Dad and Mara.  I finished my first year of college with flying colors, and I was playing instruments on stages in concerts.  That’s when I knew I was in the right major.  I just loved being up there, an instrument in my hands.”

“I didn’t take a break for summer; breaks were for people who didn’t like what they were doing, right?  There were fewer students in each class and it sort of felt more intimate, not to mention the term was shorter.  I was in the symphony orchestra- I played the cello, the marching band- I was on the drum line, concert band I played guitar, but it was seldom any of those groups had anything going on in the summer, so I had been looking for a string quartet to maybe get into.  I was talking to one of my professors about it one day, and he told me he had three juniors from another class looking for a cellist to complete a quartet.  He gave me contact information for one of the girls, and we set up a time to meet.”

“Mind you, at this point in my life, I’m nineteen years old, I have a two year old and I’m practically married to my best friend, minus the sex.  I work part time and am up to my elbows in school work and instruments.  I was loving every minute of it, but it wasn’t like I had time for anything else.  All that flew out the window the minute I walked into that empty auditorium and I saw Noelle for the first time.  I was ready to give her anything she wanted.”

“She was playing her viola, and she was gorgeous.  She had these big, soft, blonde curls that bounced as she played, and these pouty lips I couldn’t stop staring at.  I figured out pretty early in life I was attracted to women as well as men, but no woman I had seen before had ever done to me what she did just from me looking at her.  I was a mess introducing myself, but she didn’t mind or notice, I don’t know.”

“I auditioned for her, and she called me back two days later to play again, this time with us as the full quartet, and we sounded so good.  She called the next day and told me I was in, and out of nowhere I asked her if she wanted to meet for coffee.  She agreed, and on the way to the shop all I could think about what a loser I was because she probably thought I just wanted to meet to talk about the quartet, and I really didn’t have anything to ask or talk about the quartet for; I try to let my music speak for itself, you know?  Anyway, she was there by the time I arrived, and I remember her face as I approached her.  Maybe it was because I could swear I was already in love, but it seemed like she looked right through me.  All I know is when I sat down she told me she could tell I liked her.  Just like that, she called me out.  And I confirmed it.”

“It took me three weeks to find the courage to kiss her, and when I did, I felt something I’d been missing, but better.  Within three months, she had moved into the apartment with us, and Mara was crazy about her, and Noelle was head over heels for Mara.  She got along really well with Chloe and she and Remy had mutual friends… things were looking up.  I felt like even though I’d lost my son and my brother, my family was growing.”

 “The next couple of years felt like they flew by.  Mara was growing up beautifully, and she was so, so smart and kind.  That’s what I was most proud of as a mom, her kindness.”  Tuesday wiped new tears away.  “Mara was getting ready to start school, and I was getting ready to graduate college.  I had gotten a job managing a venue downtown, and a couple other performance majors and I started a band, mostly covers, but some originals.  Of course, things were going well, so I was waiting for the ball to drop.  Things hadn’t been easy with Noelle lately, she’d been working a lot and we hadn’t been spending any personal time together but relationships shouldn’t and couldn’t be perfect all the time, right?”

“I graduated Summa Cum Laude from college.  I was really proud, and Mom and Dad were too, of course.  One of my happiest moments is when they hugged me after I graduated; their eyes were so bright, brighter than they’d been in a really long time.  A couple of months later, Mara started kindergarten, and that surpassed my graduation day as my proudest moment.”

Tuesday stopped for a moment to collect her thoughts and process her emotions.  Talking about all of this- reliving it- was emotionally and physically exhausting.  She took a deep breath and pushed on.  “Chloe, Mara, Noelle and I were heading to my parent’s house one weekend when Mom called me and told me to meet them at the hospital.  I was crying so hard Noelle made me stop driving.  When we got there, we found out Dad had pancreatic cancer, and he’d be lucky to live another couple of months.”  Tears for her father fell from her eyes, landing on Asami’s arm, and Tuesday brushed them away gently.  She felt the two women tighten their hold on her, and it gave her the strength to continue. 

“Dad lived four months after that, though the last six weeks… he wasn’t really there anymore,” she whispered.  “I had Noelle and Chloe and Mara to help me through, but Mom was alone.  We told her to come and stay with us, and she would come for a few days, then leave.  Sometimes she went home, other times, I have no idea where she went, and she never told me.”

Tuesday excused herself and went to the en suite, and when she returned, Korra and Asami were spooning in her bed.  Her initial reaction wasn’t one she expected, and she swallowed thickly, her body surging with a feeling she hadn’t had in quite some time.  She realized she was staring as Asami turned her face down to meet her gaze.  In that moment, Tuesday spoke up.  “You guys should go to bed.  We can finish this another time.”

“Don’t be silly, we’re just stretching out.  Come on, we’ll scoot over so you can have the edge,” Asami requested, and Korra backed up towards the wall, pulling Asami by the waist with her. 

Tuesday sat down and adjusted into a comfortable spot.  Her eyes were puffy and dry from crying so much; she was sure she looked a mess.  She found herself thankful for the dull light in the room.  She sighed, because even though it was necessary, she was ready to be done with walking through her nightmares by way of words. 

Her heart tensed in pain as she thought of where she was in her recollection.  She shook her head.  “One weekend Mara and I went to stay with Mom, and I left a day early, leaving Mara with Mom, wanting to maybe spend a quiet day with Noelle, because that hadn’t happened in awhile.”  Tuesday made a sound somewhere in between a gasp and a scoff.  “I walked into our bedroom and found her fucking Chloe in our bed.”

She heard the gasps escape the women next to her, and Asami’s hand flew up to cover her mouth, but she just kept going, not wanting to elaborate on any details of that particular moment.  “I grabbed as much of my and Mara’s stuff as I could and went right back to Mom’s.  I moved out over the course of a few weeks, avoiding them completely.  Chloe tried to talk to me, and I had to have told her to fuck off at least ten times.  She left messages I refused to listen to.  You know, I could have handled another break-up.  I could have handled being cheated on.  But when it’s your best friend… she’s the person I was sure would be around my whole life.  Not Noelle, but Chloe.  And she betrayed me.  They both did.  And the worst part of it wasn’t that they betrayed me, it wasn’t that they broke MY heart, but it was that they broke Mara’s heart.  But I did too, because I wouldn’t let them see her.  Noelle never really tried, but I know that was part of the reason Chloe was trying to reach me.  I was selfish, but I just couldn’t do it.  I would never be able to look them in the eye.  I would never feel right allowing Mara to go away with them.  The whole thing made me sick to my stomach.  It still does, if I think about it too much.”

“Life wasn’t the same after that.  I had Mom, who understandably wasn’t who she used to be, and Mara, and we had some wonderful times.  I don’t want it to sound like we didn’t, but so much had changed.  We’d been through so much.  I had just turned twenty-three years old, and I was starting to get silver hair already.”

Tuesday’s voice got quieter, and pain burned her blood and every organ it pumped through.  “Mara was heading into first grade and had tested into the advanced education program at school.  Mom and I had taken her out for ice cream to celebrate.  Mom was driving on our way home, and I was sitting in the back seat with Mara.  Mom was turning left onto a highway and to this day I still can’t remember what happened next.  I woke up to them cutting me out of the car, blood covering me, horrible pain piercing my body.  But when I turned to look for Mom and Mara… I knew I wouldn’t find them.  Their side of the car was wrecked.  But I could see the blood.”  Tuesday paused, composing herself, allowing tears to fall, but refusing to let sobs overtake her.  “They took me away screaming for them, fading in and out of consciousness.  I woke up in the hospital a day later, emergency surgery having been performed on me to save my life.  I laid there wishing they had just let me die.  It would have been more humane.  The wreck literally tore me down the center of my body.  They had to put my insides back together.  All that pain, you could have given it to me a million times over if it would have brought at least my daughter back.”

Tuesday felt hands reach for her, and she scooted over to Asami and allowed the woman to pull her close.  She didn’t want to linger, however, because she wanted to finish her tale quickly so her friends could get some sleep.  She pulled away, finding the warm spot she’d left behind on the edge of the bed.  She took a deep breath, thankful she was in the home stretch.

“I was in the hospital for awhile even after my body had healed.  The only time I left was to go to the funeral, and I had to be escorted there by hospital personnel because I was obviously still recovering.  People tried to come up to me, talk to me, I just ignored everyone.  I felt like   
I had no words left in me.  I saw Chloe and Noelle there, though they didn’t arrive or leave together, which I watched with grim satisfaction.”

“My mind took a lot longer to heal, but one day they finally deemed me safe enough to take care of myself.  I knew I really wasn’t in much of a place to take care of myself, but I had to start somewhere, and all I knew was I had somewhere to go.  My parent’s house was now mine, but as soon as I walked into that empty place I knew I couldn’t stay there.  I packed what I could carry on my back and in my hands and just… started walking.  I wasn’t hurting for money, my parents had left me that too, so I just wandered, not knowing what I was looking for, completely lost.  I barely ate, I hardly slept, I didn’t touch an instrument.  I’d go back to the house here and there, clean up, pay bills, wash clothes, repack and leave again.  A year had passed before I ‘woke up’ a little.  I was still in no position to interact with people, I had panic attacks daily, nightmares nightly… but I became more aware of my pain, like I had been in a trance for the last year.”

“But still I roamed, finally picking up the guitar again, and in doing so finding a way to help myself somewhat.  Another year passed as I traveled around the country and found my way back to my parent’s house.  I arrived home one evening, went to sleep, woke up, and the portal was there.  I walked part of the way before this beautiful horse met me and took me right up to it, and you pretty much know the rest.” 

Tuesday let out a deep exhale.  It was over.  Anything from her past that was the most painful to recollect was out in the open, and she was glad, because now they had more of an idea of who she was and why she was the way she was. 

Korra was the first to speak.  “It’s no wonder the spirits chose you,” she said softly.  “Anyone who could survive all of that can survive anything.”

“Korra, you put yourself in front of your enemy to save her life.  You’ve saved this world how many times?  Look at you- you can survive anything, too, and you’ve come out stronger every time,” Tuesday argued.  “I just sort of exist.”

Asami chipped in, “Tuesday, pain is pain, whether it’s physical, emotional, or mental.  What you’ve gone through isn’t something to be taken lightly, and I wouldn’t say you just exist at this point in your life, would you?  Look at the adventure you’re on!”

“She’s got a point,” Korra added.  “And listen, you know my past haunts me too, and Asami’s haunts her, but we’ve learned how to cope for the most part.  Maybe meeting us, you coming here and knowing us is the next step in your healing process.  No one can ever completely heal from trauma, but we can learn how to handle it, accept it.  You’re so strong, Tuesday, even though you may feel like you’re not.  But if I had lost what you did… I don’t know how or if I could ever cope.”  Tuesday watched as Korra pulled Asami closer to her, squeezing her tight.  That reminded her…

“Okay, you two.  Off to bed,” she said, using her Mommy voice.  She felt the relief that came with having a burden lifted off her shoulders, and she smiled in spite of everything she talked about tonight.  “You both have work in the morning.  I don’t imagine you’re going to meet me for yoga, are you?” she directed at Asami.

“I want to, but let’s see if I get up.  This one is pretty convincing when it comes to keeping me in bed,” she pointed her thumb back towards Korra, who responded with a low chuckle.

Tuesday’s body instantly heated up, and she was thankful yet again for the dull light in the room.  Why she felt the way she did towards these women, she couldn’t understand.  She got the feelings of friendship and spiritual connection, and she even understood the physical attraction she felt.  _I mean, look at them!  They’re both so strong and beautiful, and so sexy…_

“Seriously, you two, go to bed,” she whispered, attempting nonchalance.  It was getting harder to ignore her erratic heartbeat and her increased breathing, and she just wanted to stop feeling like this, because these women were her friends.  They were married to each other, and she would only complicate things by elaborating on these feelings.

“I don’t want to move,” Asami said sleepily.

“Me neither,” muffled Korra.

Tuesday froze, not sure of what she should say or do.  It was their home; they could sleep wherever they wanted.  “I’ll go sleep, uh… on a couch somewhere?” she suggested.

“You’ll do no such thing,” Asami murmured.  “This bed has plenty of room for the three of us.  Go to sleep.”

“Oh, uh, okay.  Good night?” Tuesday replied, attempting to sort through the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions coursing through her body and mind.

They both mumbled a ‘good night’ to her, and she heard them begin to breathe deeply after a few minutes. 

She laid there for awhile, her mind going a mile a minute.  She focused on slowing her breathing and worked on calming her heart.  She tried processing her feelings for the two women next to her.  By the time her eyes finally started to feel heavy enough for sleep, she had come to a conclusion. 

She wanted them.  She was crazy about them both… and she would just have to keep her mouth shut about it.


	18. Well, Wasn't Expecting That

Before Korra even opened her eyes, she knew it wasn’t Asami’s waist she had her hand on.  She felt Asami’s arm laying over hers, and her eyes blinked open to see the pale blue of dawn creeping in through the windows.  The air had a slight chill to it, a sign that the seasons were starting to change.  She peered over her wife’s shoulder and all the haze from sleep was lifted from her mind as she visually confirmed what her mind had already figured out… her dark skin was very noticeable against the pale skin of Tuesday’s waist, and her wife’s fingers stretched a bit past hers, also gently resting on the girl. 

Korra told her hand to move, but it didn’t comply.  Looking at their hands on Tuesday made her… react, and frankly, it was blowing her mind.  She needed the advice of her best friend.

Being as quiet as possible, she whispered, “Babe.  Asami, wake up.”  Her wife’s eyes moved behind her lids, and Korra felt her legs start to stretch.  “Baby, open your eyes, but don’t move.  Look down.”

Asami’s eyes opened slowly, and she blinked several times before her sleepy gaze dropped down to their hands.  Her eyes widened for a second before she sighed and closed them again.  “What’s wrong Korra?  Haven’t you ever cuddled with female friends before?” Asami whispered.

“Um, yes, two.  One’s a giant furry beast.  The second female friend I cuddled with ended up marrying me, so forgive me if this is new,” she answered quietly.

Asami pursed her lips together in a smile as she held in her laughter.  “What?” Korra whispered.  Asami just shook her head, a small smile still resting on her lips.  Korra was relieved her wife didn’t seem to care where their hands were, but she still felt guilty because of the feelings she felt.  Refusing to hide anything, she whispered in her wife’s ear, hoping the other girl was still asleep.  “Asami, I like… why do I like the way… it feels?”

Asami glanced at her out of the corner of her eye.  Korra couldn’t tell what she was thinking until she saw the corners of her wife’s mouth pull up into a sexy grin.  “Korra,” she said, turning her head towards her ever so slightly, “you sly polar bear dog, you.  You have a crush on Tuesday.”  Korra froze, her mind jumping into a worst case scenario situation, like Asami being livid and pushing Tuesday out of bed, her marriage being over... but then all that was gone as soon as her wife added, “That’s okay.  I do too.”  She turned and nuzzled back into her pillow, wiggled her backside against Korra, and reached past Korra’s fingers to pull Tuesday closer to them.  Tuesday sighed contently in her sleep as she nestled against Asami, and Korra’s body screamed with desire at the sight.  Her heart raced as her mind mentally exploded.  _Where the fuck is this coming from?_

As if it was acting on its own, her hand trailed down Asami’s arm and rested itself on Tuesday’s lower belly.  She placed her head back down on the pillow, trying to calm herself, too confused to fall back to sleep, body too content to move.  She closed her eyes in an attempt to fall back asleep, but her mind wandered.

Asami gave her everything she could possibly ever want or need, so why was she feeling this way about Tuesday?  There was the obvious spiritual connection with her, and both she and Asami found her extremely attractive.  She had saved her wife’s life, and she was so hopeful about the task the spirits had given her, even without knowing what it was, even having gone through everything she had, so she obviously had a good heart.  And she was so considerate and kind. 

Starting to feel sleep at the corners of her mind, Korra thought that maybe she’d answered her own question.  But as she drifted off to sleep, she still didn’t have an answer for why it pleasantly affected her so much to see Asami’s arm wrapped around Tuesday.

* * *

 

Asami woke up slowly.  For awhile, who knows exactly how long, she’d been locked somewhere in between awake and asleep, having those odd mini dreams that were usually so vivid and fairly easy to recall upon waking.  The one she was having when she actually came into consciousness (which had to have happened because she kept telling herself in the dream ‘ _Spirits, is this really happening?  This isn’t happening.  Oh my, is it happening?’_ ) was so… curious and so… HOT that she actually felt her lower lip pout when she woke.

She started to stretch and froze, save her eyes popping wide open.  Korra was pushed into her back, Tuesday pulled to her front… Asami realized her dream was quite possibly a subconscious manifestation of her real life physical position.  Her body appeared still on the surface, but underneath she was shaking in her core, and all of the places their bodies touched hers felt hypersensitive. 

She grinned as she recalled the short but sweet conversation she’d had with her wife earlier that morning.  Korra was so flipping adorable with her crush on Tuesday, and Asami was so glad she felt comfortable talking to her about everything.  They’d always been like that.  In the years before they married, they would write random questions that came to mind they didn’t know the answer to about the other one on little slips of paper and exchange them because they wanted to make sure they knew absolutely everything they possibly could about each other.  As far as their general lives, they barely had any questions at all to ask because they had known each other and been close friends so long those were things they talked about and therefore already knew.  But when they became lovers, more questions surfaced.  A LOT more.

There was obviously their sexual history to be discussed.  Asami had made out with a few guys and girls before dating Mako.  She really loved Mako, but she knew now she was never in love with him.  She almost gave him her virginity one night, but it just didn’t happen.  He didn’t try to go farther than they were, and she didn’t offer to.  It was a stalemate.  She had gone on a few dates when Korra was gone… all men… and she allowed a few of them to kiss her, but nothing felt right, and she knew it was because she was in love with Korra.

Korra had made out with one person before Asami, and that was Mako.  Yet Asami could not tell of Korra’s inexperience in anything, not their first kiss, not the first time she caressed her, and not the first time they made love.  Her Korra had always known how to touch her in every way.

She was surprised when, about six months before their wedding, Korra had foregone the note altogether and asked her right out, “Are you satisfied knowing I’m the only lover you’ll ever have?  I mean, do you ever wonder what a man or another woman might feel like?”  Asami had answered yes to both questions, which threw Korra for a loop.  She explained that she would be the happiest woman on the planet if Korra was her only lover for the rest of her life, but being human, there had been times she’d seen an attractive man or woman and wondered what it would be like to bring them home to share with Korra.

Needless to say, she was speechless, though she did try to form a few sentences.  Finally Asami had to put her out of her misery.  “Korra, I would never in a million years cheat on you, and I’m never going to leave you.  I am yours.  But yes, I am open to having another lover, but only if you’re there, and only if you’re one hundred percent on board with it too.  Having a fun experience will never be worth ruining our relationship.”  Korra had smiled before admitting that she would be open to it also, with the right person, in the right situation.

Asami couldn’t help but wonder if they’d found both. 

She looked down to where their arms wrapped around the curly-haired beauty.  She was wearing a thin, three-quarter length sleeved shirt and it had ridden up her waist a few inches.  Where their arms did not rest she could see parts of her tattoos, the ink dark in contrast to the skin it laid under.  Were those… vines?  Roots, maybe.  Asami’s curiosity was getting the best of her, and she wanted to see all of Tuesday’s tattoos.  She and Korra had both wanted to get tattooed, they just had not gotten around to it.  Maybe that would be something they could share with Tuesday, as the girl obviously knew a thing or two about them. 

She was entirely too reluctant to move at all, but she had to check the time.  She wanted to wake Korra first so she could see her blush at their bedmate again.  Asami tilted her left shoulder back just a little, and Korra’s gorgeous face came into view.  _Spirits.  I will never get over how beautiful she is._   Asami spoke quietly.  “Hey beautiful, wakey wakey.”

Korra was a fairly light sleeper unless she was really beat, so it was no surprise to Asami when those ocean blue eyes opened and gazed back at her.  “Hey, beautiful yourself,” she murmured.  All of a sudden, her body tensed up.  Asami felt Korra’s arm move next to hers on the sleeping girl, and when she looked into her eyes, she saw guilt.  Well THAT was getting fixed.

Asami quietly turned her body around to face her wife and wrapped her arms around her before placing a soft, sweet kiss to her lips.  She pulled back and looked her in the eye.  “Korra, why do you look like you just got caught with your hand in the cookie jar?”

“Because I was touching another woman,” she answered, her gaze dropping.

“I was too.  Are you mad at me?”

“No!  Just confused…” Korra answered.

“I don’t think the reason you’re feeling guilty is because you were touching her.  I think it’s because you like touching her, and that’s what is confusing you.  Korra, you’re not doing anything wrong because you have been nothing but honest with me, and I am fully aware of what is going on with us and Tuesday,” Asami reassured.

“You are?  Then could you explain it to me, please?” Korra pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Sure.  We’re sexually attracted to her,” Asami answered bluntly. 

Korra’s eyes did not leave hers.  “What… exactly… does that mean?  I mean I KNOW what it means but… what does it mean for us?”

Asami decided to remind Korra of their previous conversation.  “Well, it doesn’t have to mean anything.  We can just feel that way and do nothing about it.  It could also mean, well, do you remember the time you asked me if I ever wondered what another woman felt like, and I told you that I did and would be  open to it if you were?” she whispered, her eyes watching her wife’s face for any sign of a reaction.  She felt Korra’s body tense beneath her arms, but judging by the look on her face Asami could tell it was intrigue, and maybe even desire, not fear or worry, causing Korra’s body to tighten against hers.

“I remember,” she breathed.  Asami’s heart rate started to increase as she noticed Korra’s eyes darting back and forth between her eyes and her lips.  “Are you saying… Tuesday?”

Asami took a deep breath to calm herself.  They couldn’t get carried away like this, at least not yet.  They might scare off their brand new friend if they jumped right into anything, given everything the woman had been through.  “Maybe… but I don’t think we should confront her with it.  I think maybe we should just let things happen if they’re going to.  We didn’t intend to sleep here last night, it just happened, and that’s the best way to let things like this develop, don’t you think?”

Korra nodded.  “And you’re sure you’re okay with this?  I’m not abnormal for feeling this way?  Because, Asami, Spirits, I don’t want you to think you don’t give me enough physically,” she whispered, her eyes boring into Asami’s, looking for her thoughts.

“Oh, Baby, I don’t think that at all.”  She kissed Korra’s lips softly, only allowing them a few seconds before she pulled away.  “If I kiss you more than that right now, it might wake up Tuesday.”

“Wake up Tuesday?”

Both Korra and Asami startled at the sound of their friend’s voice, but giggles quickly replaced their gasps as they found her sleepy statement absolutely precious.  “I’m awake,” she mumbled from behind them, and their giggles turned into laughter.

Asami sat up, and Korra followed suit.  Asami gave her wife a sly look before gently pinching the skin at Tuesday’s waist.  The musician shrieked and batted Asami’s hand away.  “What’d you do that for?  I told you I was awake,” Tuesday smiled as she scolded her.

Korra’s face was lit up from the interaction, and it made Asami feel bold.  “I thought maybe you’d need some reassurance that you weren’t dreaming, considering you woke up to two extremely hot women in your bed this morning.”

She erupted into a fit of laughter at the look on Tuesday’s and Korra’s faces.  Both women’s mouths formed tiny o’s, and both had turned a dangerous shade of red.  She watched as the edge of Korra’s mouth turned up into a lop-sided grin.  Tuesday gave them a shy grin before sitting up against the headboard.  “Oh I knew that wasn’t a dream.  I remember going to bed with them next to me,” she gave back as she winked.

Asami had to clear her throat and regain her train of thought.  Here she had thought Tuesday would be too shy to come back with anything, yet the woman had surprised her by flirting right back.  Asami loved it.  “Come on, let’s go get in a workout.  Babe, you up for it?”

Korra hopped off the bed as she exclaimed, “I’m always up for a good workout.”

Asami turned to Tuesday.  “We’ll go get ready.  Meet you out in the gym?”  She couldn’t help but stare at the girl as she waited for her reply.  Her curls were everywhere as a result of sleep, and if possible it made her more attractive.  Her cheeks were still pink from their flirting, and there was a look of playfulness behind those stormy eyes.  Tuesday nodded, and with much reluctance Asami left the room, pulling Korra away with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ut oh.
> 
> Oh boy.


	19. Breakfast

“Ohhh I’m so going to hurt tomorrow,” Tuesday said from the floor.  She was sprawled on her back on her yoga mat, sweat dripping down her face.  “Thanks for the support, though, I needed that.  I felt my flexibility open back up from a long dry spell.”

“No problem.”  Asami grinned, her smile reaching her eyes.  “Being the wife of the Avatar gives me lots of exercise support experience.  By the way, I like how you mix regular core exercises into your yoga.”

“I like the feeling of going back and forth,” Tuesday said, a light blush creeping onto her cheeks.  She had a dirty mind, and she bit her lip, trying to repress the thoughts of going back and forth…

She exhaled loudly.  _Change the subject._   “Okay, where is Ms. Yoga Bores Me?  You guys have to go soon, yeah?”

“Yes.  I am actually going to go grab a shower now,” Asami answered.  “We’ll be back here for you mid afternoon, okay?”

“Sure thing.  I’ll be ready,” Tuesday smiled as Asami disappeared behind a door, then she stood up and headed back to the house.  She was going to send her girls off with breakfast.

She knew nothing could ever come of how she felt towards Korra and Asami, except maybe besides some playful flirting, but she’d never been the person that did things for people because she expected reciprocation; she was kind because it made her happy and because people had shown her kindness in her life, and she wished to pay it forward.  She owed them so much; it was like she’d been asleep for so long and the moment those two walked into her life was the moment she woke up.  They had asked if they could be her new family.  They had no idea how much that meant to her, and what a big deal it was. 

She jogged part of the way to the kitchen, not just to give herself more time but also because she felt good from the workout.  She was equally nervous and excited to start her airbending training tomorrow, and Korra had assured her she’d teach her, but Tuesday wasn’t sure if that made her anxious or comfortable.  Perhaps it was a little of both.

Once she reached the kitchen she washed her face and her hands after wrapping her braid into a bun.  She pulled the ingredients she needed from the pantry and fridge and set to work making fruit and granola parfaits.  It was mostly prep work, and they were done and packed in little bags faster than she expected.  She thought back to a time when her parents would leave little notes of encouragement in her lunch, usually on test days or try-out days or solo days or any day she needed a little boost of confidence.  The girls were headed back to the grind after a blissful time away, and Tuesday was still looking for ways to say thank you to the two of them.  She grinned as she found paper and a brush and ink.  Maybe a note would help brighten their day.

* * *

 

Something was hanging from one of the front door knobs when Korra and Asami came downstairs on their way out.  “Ha!  I think Tuesday packed us a lunch,” Korra exclaimed, taking a quick peek in the bag.  “Oooo, no, it’s breakfast!  I’m eating mine in the car.”

“Well that was very sweet of her,” Asami said.  “I’m actually starving.  I was going to stop on the way in for something but this is better.”

“She’s spoiling us, Asami,” Korra said with a smile as she jumped into the passenger seat of the car. 

Asami settled into the driver’s seat and started the car.  She flipped her hair as she turned to face her wife and grinned slyly as it became obvious her action was successful in its desired effect.  Korra’s eyes flashed with heat and she bit her lip before saying, “I think you should drive, otherwise we might not make it to work.”

Asami gulped and tore out of the driveway, because when Korra’s voice got all husky like that…

She shook her head.  “So what’s for breakfast?” she inquired, her eyes on the road.  She’d been a little over-cautious since the accident, and who could blame her?

Korra was quiet, and Asami figured it was because she was eating, but when she reached a red light and looked over, she was reading something.  “Hey, what’s that?” she asked curiously.

“It was in the bag.  It’s a note from Tuesday.  ‘Thank you so much for your hospitality and friendship.  You and your wife are amazing!  See you soon, XO- Tuesday.’  And it’s a fruit parfait with granola.  Yum.”  Korra answered, shoving a spoonful into her mouth. 

Asami chuckled at her wife and wondered how it was possible she seemed to fall more in love with her every day.  “I’ll have mine at work.  Is there a note for me?” she asked, feeling a little envious of Korra’s note.  “I’ll be jealous if you got a note and I didn’t!” she pouted, trying to appear serious.

Korra’s eyes grew wide.  “I’m sorry!  I’ll tell her not to write me any more notes!  Let me see if…”

“I’m only playing.  I could practically guarantee there’s a note in with mine.  Could you see Tuesday being like that, given what’s been done to that girl?” she mentioned, getting heated.  Korra handed her the note from her bag, and she held it in her hand as she continued her rant.  “Can you imagine having a best friend for eighteen or however many years she invested in that bitch to come home and find her screwing your girlfriend?”  Asami pounded her hand on the steering wheel, not really angry, and not really hurt, but somewhere in between.  “I mean, why do that to her?  Couldn’t they have just been honest with her?”

“I can’t wrap my head around that.  I mean, I know the situation between us and Mako was interesting to say the least, but I would still say it’s extremely different from what she went through.  I don’t understand why anyone would want to hurt her like that.  I can’t understand why anyone would want to hurt anyone like that, but especially her.  She’s… special, different,” Korra retorted.  “I’ve certainly felt sorry for myself over everything I’ve gone through on many occasions; it’s a fault of mine.  But going through the type of things you two have been through…” her voice trailed off, unable to finish her statement. 

Asami drove quietly for awhile, allowing Korra to finish her meal.  She was excited about getting to her meeting.  She enjoyed what she did, though she did hope she wouldn’t ever have to rebuild Republic City again.  She wanted to go forward with her company, not plateau.

They hit the red light one block away from City Hall, and Asami took the opportunity to read her note, and she did so aloud, respectively.  “’I am so thankful for you.  You two are remarkable!  Can’t wait til later.  XO- Tuesday.’  Aww.  I miss her already,” Asami pouted.  “And I miss you too,” she stuck her bottom lip even further out.

“But I’m right here.”

“No, we’re here,” Asami said, “and you have to go.”

“I didn’t even realize where I was, I was so fixated on that pout.  I want to bite that lip.”

“Go to work, Babe,” Asami demanded, her resolve wavering as a result of Korra’s words.  “I love you.”

Korra leaned over and gave her a quick kiss, behaving herself.  “I love you, too, Beautiful,” she proclaimed, eyes shining with the emotions that matched her words.  Her hair bounced as she hopped out of the car and headed up the steps, and Asami could only stare.  Korra turned and waved when she reached the top then entered the building, therefore exiting Asami’s view.  A weight settled in her chest.  She hated being away from Korra, and this was the first time they’d be away from each other for more than an hour or so in the past month.  Sometimes Asami seriously considered stepping down as CEO and just taking in the financial gain as owner so she had more time to spend at home, but there was too much she wanted to do with the company that could help the world, and it wasn’t like the Avatar could ever retire.  That was something she had accepted a long time ago, however.  It was good Korra fell in love with a sporadic workaholic, considering she herself would hold her position until, well, her dying day. 

Asami didn’t like to think about that.  At all.

She parked in her usual spot and grabbed the elevator door as it was closing.  “Ah, Mrs. Sato!  Good morning,” stated Yenay, the elevator operator.  “Welcome back!”

“Thank you, Yenay.  I’m ready to work,” she said, and smiled as the elevator doors slid shut.


	20. More Ghosts

When Korra walked into the room, she knew something was wrong.  Fire Lord Izumi was there.  She threw her head back while groaning, before letting it fall forward into her open hands dramatically.  “Fire Lord Izumi, I mean you no disrespect, but you being here must mean something is wrong.”  Korra wanted to weep.  “I just got back from my honeymoon,” she whimpered.

“Avatar Korra, I regret to confirm your suspicions, but you’re right.  Forgive me for making you wait, but we’re waiting for one more to join us.  Everything will be explained then,” the Fire Lord stated.

Korra trudged over to the open chair in between Tenzin and Lin and plopped down.  She rested her head in her hands.  “One day Asami and I might disappear into the Spirit world and you two might never see us again,” she mumbled.  She felt Tenzin’s hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t be discouraged, Korra.  Whatever it is, we’ll handle it,” he reassured her.

“I know.  I’m just fed up with it being non-stop.”

“That’s just the way it is, kid,” Lin said. 

“I’m fully aware.  Don’t get me wrong, I love being the Avatar, but I think my desire to have some semblance of a home life is outweighing everything right now.  I am so excited about helping with the airbenders; that’s the kind of pace I’d like to be going.  If I have to travel, I want to do it for leisure, not because some son of a…”

“Korra,” Tenzin interjected.

“…is obsessed with killing me, or destroying the Spirit World, or throwing all the balance I’ve worked towards out of whack,” Korra ranted.

The doors sounded at that moment, and Korra and company turned to face them.  Iroh walked in and nodded to everyone, giving Korra a small smile.  “Avatar Korra, Master Tenzin, Chief Beifong, it’s good to see you again, and after such a long time,” he joked.  Everyone had seen each other about a month prior at the wedding, and Iroh had made a comment about moving to Republic City, which his mother noticeably did not like.  He went to her before taking his seat, squeezing her shoulders gently and kissing the top of her head.  “Have you started yet, Mother?” he asked respectfully.

“No, darling.  I thought it best if you explained everything,” she answered. 

Korra couldn’t help but notice the dejected look on his face as he turned to face her.  He sighed deeply and said, “Korra, something is going on in Fire Nation waters.  There’s a submarine… we’ve seen it surface on several occasions, and we’ve caught it on sonar a few times, almost always in a different place around the islands.  It moves faster than any submarine I’ve ever seen, like it’s there and we go after it and it’s just… gone.  We don’t know what it’s doing, but we’ve figured out… who… the people behind it are.”

Korra waited, but Iroh was hesitating.  She scoffed and shook her head as his apprehension gave her the answer.

“It’s the Red Lotus.”

“Yes.”  Iroh opened his mouth to say something else, but balked. 

“Out with it, Iroh,” she demanded of her friend.

“It’s Ghazan’s son.”

Korra’s blood froze in her veins.  “How do you know?” 

“A couple of soldiers reported a fight with a lavabender.  I showed them Ghazan’s mug shot, even though we believe him to be deceased.  I just had a hunch.  They said the guy was younger but looked a lot like him.  That’s how we figured it out,” Iroh explained.

“Where did the fight take place?” Korra inquired.

“There’s a rock quarry near the Fire Nation Capital not far from the harbor.  We’ve had some guys on the lookout there because it appeared as though someone had been harvesting metal without a contract,” Iroh answered.

“Try to find exactly where they were digging,” Korra said, turning to the Fire Lord.  “It could be the metal that submarine is made of.  You could send a sample of it here for Lin and send one to Zaofu.  Bataar could do some extensive testing.  It might be why it’s able to move so quickly.”

Korra was in a groove.  After her blood thawed it had started to boil.  She was ready to get to the bottom of this before it got out of hand. 

“Fire Lord Izumi, please keep me informed of any more news.  Iroh, President Raiko, if you could watch the waters around Republic City, I would be grateful,” Korra sighed as she announced the inevitable.  “At least until I leave.”

“Leave?  Where are you going?” Tenzin asked, alarmed.  “I thought you were going to help Jinora?” 

“Isn’t it obvious?  I have to go face this son of Ghazan.  I refuse to allow the battle come to Republic City again,” Korra stated.  “Asami has worked too hard to rebuild this city too many times.”

“But you’ll allow it to happen in the Fire Nation?” the Fire Lord interrogated.

“I’m hoping it won’t come to too much of a battle at all, Fire Lord.  You say it’s a submarine around the islands; I plan to keep it in the water.  I’m going to use my natural element to its fullest extent,” Korra explained, raring to go out of frustration.  “I’ll get them woozy then infiltrate.  I’m going right for this lavabender.  I don’t expect it to go smoothly, but he will surrender nonetheless.”

Korra stood up and pushed in her chair before squeezing Tenzin on the shoulder.  “Excuse me, please.  I need to go see my wife.”  Korra turned and exited the room, leaving a deafening silence.

* * *

 

Asami sat at the head of the table, listening to the board members around her concur with her recent idea.  A professional smile stretched across her lips.

“This is a great idea and wonderful opportunity for the company, Mrs. Sato.  I trust that folder in your hands holds the business plan?” her Chief Financial Officer asked her.

“You would be correct, Libby,” she smiled as she handed it over.  “As far as how the company was handled in my absence, I truly appreciate the hard work set forth by all of you.  I am pleased and so lucky to have so many people that care about Future Industries.”

“All due respect, ma’am, it’s a pleasure to work for you.  You’re a wonderful employer.  You care about your staff and that makes a world of difference,” Libby said, and the heads around the room nodded in agreement.

Asami blushed, feeling awfully humble.  “We’re a team here, with the people of the world in mind.  Now, everyone have a great day, and continue to check your memos for further instructions regarding your position in our next step.  Libby, get back to me in the morning with any necessary revisions.  I’m going to be… out of town for the rest of the day.”

“Yes ma’am,” Libby complied, a small smile on her lips.  “Still on the honeymoon?” she asked when no one was left in earshot but them.

“Somewhat.  We have some things to take care of.  In fact, I’d like your input.  I’m starting a business outside of Future Industries,” Asami began.

“Oh!  What sort?” the young CFO asked, clearly excited.

“A musical venue… I heard the night life has been sort of dull, so we’re going for it,” she answered.  “We’re really excited about it, actually.  I was hoping you could go over the business plan for that with me.”

“Absolutely!  And you know where I am if you have any more questions,” Libby said with a smile.  “I’ll talk to you in the morning, Mrs. Sato!”

Asami turned left out of the conference room to head to her office, walking the familiar steps with her nose in a folder.  “Her” office was actually her father’s before hers, and it took up two thirds of the top floor.  She would be very happy in something smaller, but the room reminded her of good memories, not bad ones. 

Finally closing the folder upon entering the room, she was pleasantly surprised to see Korra sitting on one of the couches in the corner, staring out of the floor to ceiling windows.  Her smile quickly fell as soon as she recognized anguish in her wife’s eyes.  She let her things fall to the floor and hurried to the couch.  She pulled up her skirt a little to drape one leg behind Korra’s back before uncharacteristically plopping down next to her.  Asami tightened the leg around her and brought the other leg up, wrapping it over her lap and around her waist, crossing her ankles together.  She wrapped both arms around her wife and pulled her to her chest.  “Something’s wrong, isn’t it?” she asked as she burrowed her face in Korra’s hair, memorizing her smell for the millionth time.

“I have to go to the Fire Nation.  It seems the Red Lotus is uprising, and we think Ghazan’s son is the ringleader,” Korra said, apparently not seeing any point in sugar coating anything, which is exactly the way Asami liked to receive her news.

Her body tensed at the name.  Korra reciprocated the embrace, snapping out of her stupor to comfort her wife.  “Don’t worry, Babe.  This is going to be over with quickly,” she assured her, and Asami felt her muscles relax.  They were pros at this stuff.  They hadn’t left enough Red Lotus members alive or out of jail for this to be a catastrophic threat… as far as they knew.

“When are we leaving?” Asami asked, leaning sideways into the couch, pulling Korra with her.

“I need to talk with Tenzin and Lin.  I sort of left the meeting upset.  Not angry, just frustrated.  I want to teach airbending by day and be home with you and Naga and Tuesday by night.  I know I’m the Avatar, so does that make simple things too much to ask for?” she mumbled, clearly more irritated than anything. 

Asami was so proud of her wife.  There was a time just mentioning the Red Lotus would make Korra’s eyes wide with terror, but now she looked at them as a nuisance.  All Korra wanted in this world was peace amongst the nations, but there was always some new band of misfits to temporarily ruin everyone’s lives.

“No, Babe.  You deserve the simple things in life just like everyone else.  Just because you’re the Avatar doesn’t mean you’re not Korra.  We’ll get this settled, and fast, just like you said.  Besides, I need to go to the Fire Nation anyway.  Future Industries is expanding- and that’s where we’re headed.  It’s going to be much more efficient; we won’t have to export any more cargo overseas to them because they’ll be able to produce it themselves, and it’ll create jobs,” Asami explained.  “There’s more in the works- demand for Satomobiles are high and some bridges between the islands need to be rebuilt, and they want to bring us on for that, as well as build a few new ones.  I’ll probably have quite a bit to do when we’re there, but first and foremost, we take care of these…” Asami didn’t have a word bad enough to describe them.  Korra finished her sentence for her, and Asami blushed at the level of vulgarity.  “It’s definitely never a question that you grew up around so many men,” she chuckled.  “I need to ask Mom what it was like when tiny Korra ran around yelling swear words.”

“A lot of her fussing at Dad, because she knew that was where I heard them, until I went to the compound anyway.  Those guys had conversations freely around me, no holds barred.  I’m thankful I don’t have a sick and twisted view of sex,” Korra shared, absentmindedly running her fingertips in odd patterns across the sensitive skin on Asami’s lower back. 

The engineer gently brushed aside a few strands of hair that had fallen into her wife’s beautiful face.  “Some people might look at your view of sex as twisted.  Let’s think about this.  We’re two women, and while this is completely and utterly natural to us and our loved ones, not everyone that looks at us thinks that.  Plus we’ve been considering sharing a new lover, which is something we probably shouldn’t even tell our friends because it’s so taboo,” Asami explained.  “It’s all a matter of perception.”

“I think at least a few of our friends would consider us with Tuesday as hot and not sick or twisted at all,” Korra giggled.  “Not that I would tell them, but come on.  Bo, Opal, Kya, Wing and Wei would all want details.”

“Oh Spirits- do you remember when I had that dream about us and Wing and Wei?  I couldn’t look them in the eye for weeks.  They thought I was mad at them.  Poor boys… if they only knew!” Asami sighed, a small smile on her face.

“I love you so much.  You’re so sexy and open and… forward with me, but no one else would ever be able to tell because you’re such a lady in the public eye.  You’re just…” Korra could only growl.  Asami felt pleasure flood her body as Korra slid her ever warm hands under her blouse, gripping her waist firmly before pushing herself up and pulling Asami down under her.  She was laying over her within the blink of an eye, her lips passionately molded into hers, Spirits, those lips, ohhh and that tongue, dancing with hers, running across her lips, Asami wanted Korra to take her right here and now, and she knew Korra needed to take her; doing so always grounded her wife when she was upset for any reason.  Asami could taste her hunger, and she only wanted more.

She tightened her legs around Korra, pulling the Avatar into her.  Their lips broke contact for the first time as Korra moaned, and Asami placed her hands on the back of her neck and threaded her fingers into her hair and rushed her lips back onto hers.  She held her there, kissing those lips for a few seconds before pulling back just enough to focus on Korra’s darkened eyes.  “Shhhh,” she said as she rubbed her index finger down Korra’s kiss-swollen lips.  “We have to be quiet here,” she whispered before kissing the side of Korra’s mouth, leaving the tiniest smudge of lipstick.

Korra was always ready for a challenge.  She wasted no time flipping off the back of the couch to run and lock the door.  Asami waited, body trembling, and next thing she knew Korra was back on her, completely nude, and she realized somewhere between the door and couch there must be a line of clothing.  Asami shivered with longing as Korra began fiddling with the buttons on her blouse, and once it was unbuttoned she didn’t even bother with taking it off completely before reaching one hand behind her back and unsnapping her bra.  The look in Korra’s eyes was one of heated desire, those blue orbs swimming with love and lust, and it made every part of Asami ache in all the right ways.

As soon as her breasts were free, Korra’s lips and hands were on them.  Asami tightened her grip in her wife’s hair as both of them had to fight to keep their quickened breaths from turning into moans.  Asami rolled her hips into the woman above her, and Korra pulled away from her chest to give her ‘that look’ again, the one that turned her into putty, the one that made her want to fulfill all of Korra’s desires… over and over and over again. 

Korra’s bottom lip shook a little as she exhaled, and Asami let her hands slide gently over the strong arms on both sides of her before moving them over to caress her wife’s taut stomach.  She refused to break contact with those eyes, even when she felt her fingertips brush the underside of Korra’s perfect breasts and her wife pushed her hips down into her.  Korra lost her breath and Asami’s became shaky as she took a breast in each hand, kneading them gently, never taking her green eyes away from the pools of blue right in front of her.  Korra’s bottom lip continued to tremble as she fought for air.  Asami could feel her wife’s body quivering at the core.  There was so much pent up emotion just from today locked in that gorgeous body and she was ready to release all of it for her love.

She finally closed her eyes before pressing her lips to her wife’s in a hungry kiss.  She pulled her down onto her, wanting to feel the warmth of Korra’s skin against hers.  Asami started to pant in a very unladylike way when Korra’s hands grabbed her knees before making their way further up Asami’s thighs.  Asami pulled out of the kiss and put her lips to her wife’s ear.  “Korra,” her voice a low, breathy whisper, “I love you, and I want you to take me right now.  Please.  I need you.”

Korra response was silent but effective.  Asami could feel how ready she was for her wife, and she was anxious for her to discover it as well.  Her lover quickly pushed her skirt up around her waist and pulled her stockings and panties down together, and Asami just lay there for her, watching her bite her lip as her eyes trailed over her body.  She watched her lower herself, eyes on her prize, and her hands found themselves tangled in Korra’s dark chocolate locks as she felt her wife’s mouth close over her clit.  The Avatar hummed in satisfaction and the vibration sent shocks through her as her body began naturally moving with the rhythm of her wife’s tongue. 

It was all Asami could do not to moan as she felt Korra gently slide two fingers inside of her, and she felt frenzied as those strong, skilled fingers began to move expertly, caressing her walls, finding a rhythm, making sure every movement counted. 

“Oh, Korra, Spirits, ohh… you feel so good,” she breathed.  Korra whimpered with desire, and Asami had to bite her hand to keep from groaning.  The rocking of her hips became more frequent as she felt herself tightening around her love’s unrelenting digits.  “Come here.  I want you up here with me when you make me come,” she gasped.  Asami felt a pang of displeasure at the sudden absence of her wife’s mouth on her as she complied, but it was quickly erased as she felt Korra’s thumb brush her sensitive bud, keeping a perfect cadence with her fingers, and she nearly lost it altogether when Korra’s lips, wet with her juices, found hers.  She pulled her wife as close to her as she possibly could before breaking the kiss and moving her lips to her ear.  Since she could not moan for her wife, she would hear her breathing, and from the sound of Korra’s own breathing, Asami would say it was more than efficient.

She placed one of her hands on Korra’s cheek and held her wife’s head against hers as they moved, her breaths starting to come in gasps.  “Oh *gasp* Korra  *gasp* ohh,” the moans delivered quietly into Korra’s ear. 

“Ohh, Spirits, Asami… you are… ohh… Spirits, I love you,” Korra spoke softly, and hearing her voice emanating passion and excitement was all it took to send Asami spiraling completely out of control, the love of her life in her arms and the pleasure she was feeling the only tethers holding her to this world.


	21. Chapter 21

“I think instead of going back to City Hall I’ll just radio Tenzin and Lin from the manor.  I just want to go home.  I’m excited to take Tuesday to the portal and just spend the day with you two,” said Korra to her wife.  They were in the elevator on the way down to the car, their hands clasped together, her head resting on Asami’s shoulder. 

Asami sighed contently.  “I’m with you.  I’ll check on Tuesday while you radio out, we’ll go have lunch, then head to Air Temple Island for an air bison.”

“Sounds perfect.  I love how you always have a plan,” Korra expressed endearingly, and she was warmed to see a small smile on Yenay’s face.  The elevator dinged as they reached the garage, and Yenay opened the doors for them.  “Thank you, Yenay.  I hope you have a wonderful day,” she told the operator as they exited.

“Thank you, Avatar Korra; you and Mrs. Sato, also!” the woman smiled as the doors slid shut.

“You have such nice people working for you,” Korra said to her wife as they got into the Satomobile.  “Attitude reflects leadership, you know.”  She gave her wife a wink as she started the engine.  Asami blushed as she reversed the car out of its parking spot, seemingly just as ready to get home as Korra was. 

“I think the employees that weren’t involved in the Equalist movement saw how hard I worked to clean up the company’s reputation, and I’ve been in control of the hiring since then.  I think they see that I treat them the way I would want to be treated if I were an employee,” Asami replied humbly.

“See, that’s another one of the million reasons why I love you so much,” Korra said, watching her wife as she drove.  “You grew up fortunate and yet you strive to put yourself into the shoes of people who have less than you or haven’t been handed an opportunity to succeed.  Because of you so many businesses around here are thriving because you helped the economy so much, and no one forgets your philanthropic endeavors.  And now we’re about to bring our generation together with this new venue which I can’t be more excited about,” she said, clapping her hands onto her knees enthusiastically. 

“I’m really excited to see Tuesday on stage,” Asami said.  “I have a feeling we’re going to see the start of something new.  I mean, of course the music is different, but her feel is, too.  I think the atmosphere will be surreal.”

“Well it is when she performs for us,” Korra exchanged.  “I can’t imagine it being less on a larger scale, except it won’t be as intimate for us in the crowd.”

“Who says?  Besides, she’ll sing for us any time we ask,” Asami said.  “We’re special.  We get private performances.”

“Sounds naughty,” Korra replied, a seductive edge to her voice.

“You’re obviously feeling… positive towards the possibility of that happening, aren’t you?” her wife asked her.  Korra could only sense curiosity in the question; nothing negative.  She laughed out loud.

“I’m only confident about it when I’m around you.  Please tell me that I’m not alone when I feel all… jittery around her,” she answered, watching her wife’s face as they conversed. 

“I wouldn’t say I’m jittery, but I’m certainly something.  Does… does that upset you?” Korra watched as her wife’s beautiful face fell from worry.

“Not at all!” she felt relief as she saw those sexy red lips turn up at the edges.  “I’d be a hypocrite to judge you for the way you feel around her when I feel the same way.  But I’m not judging either of us.  If I had inhibitions, trust me, I’d tell you, and I know you’ll do the same thing.”

“I still don’t think we should say anything.  We have no idea what she’d think or feel or say to us, besides, exactly how do you approach a situation like this?  ‘Hi, so, I know we’re married, but we’re attracted to you.  Wanna fool around?’” Asami questioned.

“I just think we should keep being us and not say anything.  She seems to be doing well, adjusting to everything well.  She seems so much happier and healthier too,” Korra expressed.  They were pulling into the driveway of the manor and she found herself giddy to see their friend.  “Are you excited to see her?”

Asami had a huge grin on her face as she answered, “I am.  Let’s go.”

* * *

 

Tuesday knew her girls were home when Naga jumped up from the living room floor, tail wagging wildly.  She grinned and stood from her spot in the armchair, excited to see them.  She had scolded herself for half of the morning when she admitted to herself that she missed them, but she was happy, and she wasn’t leaving.  She’d deal with… whatever the rest of this was.

She walked into the kitchen and took the lunch she had prepared off the stove and walked it over to the bar.  She had already placed table settings and dipping sauces out, so she went to the fridge and brought out two pitchers, one carrying lychee juice and the other one southern style sweet tea.  She had developed a taste for it when shewas down in Georgia for a band competition.  She enjoyed it so much she learned the way it was made before she returned home. 

Tuesday smiled as she heard the front doors open and close.  She sat down in ‘her’ seat at the bar and waited.  She had been a little worried the notes may have been too much, but she swallowed her fear as Asami walked through the archway and beamed at her.  “Hey you,” she said, her cheeks pink.  _Was she blushing?  Korra must’ve done something to rile her up._

“Hey yourself,” Tuesday answered, shaking and shy.  She had to get this under control!  She kept herself glued to her seat because all she wanted to do was get up and hug Asami, then find Korra and hug her, then hug them both, and it was too much, it was just way too much.

“What’s all this?” Asami asked, gesturing to the bar.  “I thought we were going out for lunch?”

“Oh, uh, well I finished everything you needed, including ideal stage size and room for barriers and bouncers in front, but I couldn’t help with floor size or seating without knowing how big a spot you have to build on.  Everything is upstairs; I figured I could give it to you later.  So, anyway, I had some spare time, so I played with Naga and made lunch,” she explained.  She was trying to avoid telling them that while she enjoyed them and their family, she was still very anxious about going out in public.  These women were medicine for her, treating her symptoms for an ailment that could never fully be cured.  It was already hard for her to imagine what life would be like without them, and she begged the spirits not to take her from them.

Asami gasped as she realized what Tuesday had made.  “Pot stickers!  These are my guilty pleasure!  Did Korra tell you?”

Tuesday looked down bashfully as she grinned.  “No… honestly I made them because they’re one of my favorites.”

Asami continued to smile as she took a step closer to her.  Tuesday had noticed her inching her way closer, almost as if she were hesitating to come near her but felt obligated to.  It worried her a little.

“Is… everything okay?  Was breakfast… did I make things weird?”

Tuesday felt the tension leave her as those brilliant green eyes grew wide and Asami sputtered, “Oh no!  Oh, Tuesday, that was so kind, and it was really delicious, thank you.  It wasn’t weird at all!  Being appreciated is a nice feeling,” she said, getting a little closer.  “We appreciate you too, Tuesday.”

“It was just breakfast,” she mumbled, eyes glued to the floor, cheeks profusely red.

“It wasn’t just breakfast.  It was also a kind note to help us get through a long morning.  It was the wine and smoke and jokes and laughter you’ve shared with us, your voice and your music... it was you saving my life.  Don’t sell yourself short,” she said softly.  Tuesday gathered enough courage to look at her elegant face, respect and gratitude warring with shyness.  She allowed her gaze to drift away from the electric green eyes and over to the raven waves that cascaded over her back, shoulders, and breasts.

_Whoa!  Don’t look there!_

Tuesday closed her eyes before she could get herself busted, but they quickly reopened as she heard the kitchen door swing open again.  Korra entered the room, worry on her face.  She walked into Asami’s arms, loosely wrapping her own around her wife.  Tuesday couldn’t help but wonder what Korra would think if she knew what was on her mind. 

Asami and Tuesday chuckled as Korra’s nose began sniffing the air just like Naga did when she smelled something good.  Her eyes widened when she saw the pot stickers on the bar.  “Did you cook?  You must have forgotten we were going out for lunch!”

“I had spare time and was craving my pot stickers.  Why don’t we just go out for dinner tonight instead?” Tuesday asked, instantly kicking herself for forcing herself into a situation she knew would make her uncomfortable.  Oh well.   She was just going to have to suck it up.

Korra seemed to immediately see through her thoughts.  “Oh, Tuesday, I didn’t even think about it; I’m so sorry,” she said, covering half her face with one hand.  “Dining out is probably something that makes you very uncomfortable, I imagine.”

Asami facepalmed herself.  “Well don’t I feel like a jerk.  I forgot, Tuesday, I’m sorry.  We’re so used to being in public…”

“Don’t apologize, please.  Give me a little time, okay?  And let me get some new clothes.  I think my wardrobe is a little conspicuous.  In the meantime, I really don’t mind cooking for us,” Tuesday admitted.  “It’s nice to have people to cook for again.”

Korra looked at her with those ocean blue eyes, and she felt the tide in them.  It was almost as if she could actually feel a pull, threatening to draw her closer.  She started to tremble as Korra moved closer to her, Asami still in her one arm, and there wasn’t enough distance between them to give Tuesday enough time to register what was happening as Korra’s free arm wrapped around her and pulled her into them.

She froze, and thankfully so, otherwise she would have been shaking from head to toe.  She felt Asami’s arm across her shoulder blades and Korra’s wrapped around her waist.  Her lungs started to burn as she realized she had stopped breathing, and she inhaled deeply.  Tentatively she slowly wrapped an arm around each woman before nuzzling her head in between theirs.

They smelled like cherry blossoms, the ocean, the sun, green grass and fresh air all rolled up in one.  Tuesday wondered if she should pull away or if she should let them do it when they were ready.  She didn’t want them to, but her feelings were frightening her, and her body felt like it wanted to go into fight or flight as a result.

She could feel Korra’s hair on her left cheek, Asami’s on her right.  Being so close to them, her skin tingling where they touched, everything was making Tuesday feel heady and intoxicated.  She felt her resolve weakening as she looked at their lips, gaze going back and forth between red and tan.  She shook her head slightly, just enough to get the thought of what she wanted out of her head.  She’d get smacked and sent packing with such a bold move.  She pulled away.  “Come on.  Let’s eat before it gets cold.”

* * *

 

“Something’s been bothering you.  I noticed when you came home you look worried.  You two going to tell me about it?” Tuesday asked Korra as they left Air Temple Island atop Lefty. 

Asami turned her head to the side to speak to them as she flew the air bison.  “She’s like Mom and Pema. We won’t be able to keep anything from her.  Must be a Mom thing,” she deducted as she laughed.

“I’m not always right,” Tuesday said.  “But apparently I am right now.  What’s going on?”

Korra seemed reluctant to answer.  “We have to leave for the Fire Nation soon, probably within a week.  I’m not sure when we’ll be back.”  Tuesday’s eyes fell and her silence spoke volumes.  It broke Korra’s heart to see her so sad.  “I don’t think it’ll be too long, there’s just no way to know for sure.”

“I understand,” Tuesday said.  Her face was turned facing the portal in the sky, which they were slowly approaching.  Korra scooted closer to her in the saddle and grabbed her hand.  “We still have time ‘til we’re there…” Tuesday said, motioning towards the portal.

 _Does it bother her that I’m holding her hand?_   “Uh, that’s okay with me.  I feel really bad we have to leave, and uh, I wanted to comfort you.  Not that you can’t handle it, just, uh…” she couldn’t stop tripping over her tongue as she tried to find the right words for this situation.  Asami turned her head to speak.

“Entering the portal in about ten seconds.”

“Okay, Babe.”  Korra pulled Tuesday’s hand into her lap, and she felt the woman next to her tense.  Korra no longer worried when she felt this, as she knew Tuesday would pull away if she wanted to, and she hadn’t since the first day, so Korra was going to use every chance she could to give her affection.  She’d been devoid of it too long.

“So why do you always cover your tattoos?” Korra asked, absentmindedly playing with the tips of Tuesday’s shortly trimmed fingernails.  “And you have fingertip calluses like Asami,” she pointed out nonchalantly. 

Lefty soared into the portal and they felt the familiar weightlessness and warmth that came with such divine transportation.  Within seconds they were in the air in the Spirit World, a beautiful pink and yellow sky welcoming them.  Asami shifted their ride towards the meadow.

“If people can see them, people ask about them, and then I have to talk to people,” Tuesday explained.  Korra noticed her next breath was shaky.  “I would let you two see them, if you wanted.”

Korra was quiet as her mind fathomed such a moment, and she felt her palms get warmer than usual.  She nodded to Tuesday as an answer, afraid of what she’d say if she opened her mouth.

“The calluses are from guitar.  I have one here on this hand from guitar.”  She held up her right thumb and rubbed the outside of it with her right index finger.  “These…” she didn’t let go of Korra’s hand as she used her left hand to point out the toughened pad of skin under her fingers in her right palm, “are from drumsticks.  And these…” she explained, rubbing the very tips of her fingers on her right hand, “are from bass guitar.”

“Spirits, how many instruments do you play?” Asami asked from the front.

“Six, though technically I can play a lot of things, I just don’t play them.  Like I know how to play the tympani but I don’t have one nor will I ever need one and I have no desire to play it.  Piano, guitar, bass guitar, cello, harmonica and drums.  So six,” she answered.

Lefty started to descend as they approached the meadow, and Korra found herself bothered by the fact that she couldn’t go with Tuesday.  Not because she couldn’t enter the portal, but because she was going to miss her.  _If I miss her now, what’s it going to be like when we leave next week?_

Lefty landed with ease, and Asami and Korra expertly hopped down while Tuesday looked down in trepidation.  Korra watched as she made her slide down look easy.  “And you looked so worried,” she said to her.  She grinned like a fool when Tuesday playfully shoved her shoulder. 

“Hey now, no roughhousing with the Avatar,” Korra said.  “Makes me want to play.”  Her eyes widened as she realized how that could be interpreted.  She could smack herself for saying that.  _That came out… oh man… that sounded… Tuesday is blushing_.  _So is Asami.  Okay. This is good, I think._ “I mean… fight… er… spar.”

“I could give you a run for your money, at least for a little while,” Tuesday challenged.

“You said you didn’t like fighting!” Korra exclaimed.

“I said I don’t like war and I believe in peaceful resolution first and foremost.  I never said I didn’t like fighting,” she retorted, a smug grin on her face.  “I love sparring.”

“Can you fight?” Asami asked Tuesday, a devilish grin on those sexy red lips. 

Tuesday stood up straight and crossed her arms.  “I can.  What’s it to ya?” she said, giving Asami a wink.

“Oh we’re going to the gym tonight after we get home.  I think there’s going to be some sparring matches happening,” Korra said, her mind immediately diving into visions of Asami and Tuesday pinning one another on the mat.  _Why can’t I stop thinking about this?!_

“Sounds like fun to me,” Asami said slyly, giving Korra a look that told her she knew exactly what she was thinking about.  She grinned at her wife, and she gave her a dazzling one right back.

“All right, but you two are going to have to show a little mercy on me because I’m severely out of practice,” Tuesday said, “but I’m excited too.  Being physical again is proving to be therapeutic for me.”

Korra’s face lost its smile as Tuesday stepped towards the portal only she could see.  She saw the same frown on her wife’s face, and she stood next to her and grabbed her hand.  “You two don’t have to wait here.  I’m not sure how long this is going to take me.  It’s… going to take a lot out of me too, I imagine, considering I’m going to need to go through a few times to bring everything.”

“We can make more trips back here, Tuesday.  We don’t want it to hurt you,” Asami said.  “Take your time, just bring a little.”

Tuesday shrugged as she faced the portal.  She looked back at them once before walking into the spot they couldn’t see, and just like that, she was gone.

“I want her to come with us to the Fire Nation, Korra,” Asami stated.  “Why can’t we bring her?”

“You know there’s a possibility it will be dangerous, and the woman has been through enough trauma,” Korra said.  “I am trying to keep her away from any more.”

“I think it’s obvious she wants to come,” Asami said, putting her arms around her wife.  “And she might be one hell of a fighter.  We won’t know until tonight.  She starts her airbending training tomorrow with you, so I’m confident she’ll have a little bit of that under her belt before we leave also.  I think we should consider it, and we don’t have to make a decision right now.”

“You’re right.  I think that’s a good idea,” Korra nodded, easily seeing her wife’s point of view on the matter.

“Do you not want her to come?”

“I do.  I… was actually upset… thinking about missing her while we were away,” Korra confessed.

“You don’t have to feel guilty about that either, Korra. I like her too.  A lot, and I would miss her.  That’s why I want her to come, selfishly enough.  It feels like she was supposed to be here all along but being she was born in a different realm we had to wait for the spirits to intervene, and for them to intervene in the first place…” Asami shook her head with awe.

“… really says something,” Korra finished, nodding again in agreement.  “Well, let’s see what she’s got going for her in the defense department.  That might make me less weary.”  She looked past her wife’s shoulder at the tree where they first saw Tuesday.  “I could use a nap while we wait.  Come with me?” she asked, gazing into those vibrant green eyes she adored.

Asami yawned.  “I suppose that’s your answer,” she chuckled tiredly.


	22. Unexpected Reactions

There were two things Tuesday noticed immediately when she walked through her portal: one, she didn’t feel nearly as fatigued as she had on every other occasion and two, the mare wasn’t there.  The latter made her very sad, especially since Avalon had said she might be able to come through the portal, but she hadn’t tried to contact Avalon since she said she would get in touch with her on her own time.  The former made her very happy indeed, as it meant she might be able to bring more back today instead of having to wait.  She didn’t want to burden her friends with a million trips just because she wanted her material items, though some of them were definitely necessities in lieu of the venue being built and her basically moving into the manor.

She began her trek, eyes open for any sign of her friend.  She was glad for the extra layers she had thought to wear.  Her breath came out in billowy puffs, and the sky had a lavender tint in the clouds, which usually meant snow was coming. 

The first flakes started to fall as soon as the house came into view, but Tuesday wasn’t headed for the house.  She reached for the carabiner clip attached to one of her belt loops and located the key to her Jeep.  It was going to make the trip back to the portal much easier.  She walked to the side of the barn and opened the double doors, leaving them to swing open the rest of the way on their own.  She cranked the automobile and drove it around to the back door, opening the back in preparation before heading into the house. 

The most time consuming task was going to be breaking down and packing up the drum kit, so Tuesday decided to start with it.  Even though she could do the entire process in her sleep, it still took time, especially with as many pieces as this kit had.  She was going to have to find a drummer she really trusted to allow them to use these bad boys.  The Pearl drums were a dark iridescent color, the different hues shifting over the surface as she moved.  If it were possible for Tuesday to love an instrument as much as her guitars, it would be these drums.  She disassembled the set as quickly as possible, packing each piece carefully into its respective case.

She carried the kit to the Jeep first, knowing it was going to take up the most room.  She packed it all in with ease, leaving hardly any space between the multiple cases.  Satisfied, she headed back into house for another load.  She grabbed both her bass guitar and Dewey’s, and set them by the front door, deciding to gather the smaller items before taking them out like she did last time.

A stab of pain jolted her insides as she thought back to the day she and Dewey named their guitars, but she refused to let it linger and smiled in spite of it.  Huge Muppet fans, they had named them Statler and Waldorf after the two grumpy critics always heckling from the balcony.  They used to put on dueling bass shows for their parents, and it would always end with a tie, as if their Mom and Dad would ever choose one over the other.

They were going to be played again, and Tuesday knew that would make Dewey very happy. 

She grabbed a bag of about two thousand ear plugs, her keyboard and any necessary electrical equipment she knew she’d need as well as stands, microphones, and basic amps.  She didn’t bother with speakers knowing they existed where she was going and she had faith Asami could work out any wiring, outlet, or plug issues that they encountered.  She grabbed another one of her acoustic guitars, one she’d had since she was twelve and had used to perfect her classical training.  Two more electric guitars were coming with her, another Gibson and a Fender.  She wondered how the people of Republic City would take to the buzz of rock music played off the strings of that Fender.  She was going to find out. 

_Oh shit, the cello_ , Tuesday thought.  It could probably fit in the front seat.  Hopefully.  She placed it by the front door, deciding it would be the last thing to fit in there if it were possible.

She went into her room and packed some more clothes, books and sentimental items.  She opened up a small cabinet that was built into her closet and looked at all of her smoking pieces.  She grabbed a few bowls that she’d bought from some independent glass blowers she’d met on the road.  One was royal purple, silver, black and grey and somewhat small.  She’d keep this one in her room.  The other one was twisted with slate blue, a pale, bright green and a shade of blue that looked like the ocean on a sunny day.  _How interesting,_ she thought.  _The_ _colors match our eyes._   That’s the one she would give to the girls.  She laughed out loud as she reached in and pulled out her bong.  She closed the cabinet and slid the bowls into her pockets before wrapping the bong in her bathrobe and tucking it away inside her bag.  Wait ‘til her girls got a load of that!  She packed a deck of playing cards for good measure, thinking she could teach the girls spades or poker. 

She paused at her dresser and opened a drawer that hadn’t been opened in, well, three years.  She put these things in there after she and Noelle split up and she hadn’t felt the need to be sexy for anyone since then.  She pulled out a black silk camisole and matching shorts.  Simple and elegant, but she worried wearing this would send a message, which she wanted but couldn’t act upon.  She pulled out a black cotton camisole and short set, very similar to the first, edged in a small line of lace, sexy without screaming sex.  _That one can come_ , she thought.  Dark grey caught her eye, and she pulled the tank top from underneath a few other items, then found a pair of black pajama shorts to go with it, then tossed them all onto the bed.  She knew she shouldn’t be hoping to share a bed with them again, but she was, and she could not help herself.

She left her room and went into the basement, grabbing two more mason jars and a smaller glass jar that held nothing but seeds.  She was going to plant these suckers in the greenhouse; Asami had already told her she could.  Looking on the opposite wall, her heart sank as she counted the last four bottles of her father’s homemade blueberry wine.  She grabbed three bottles, leaving one that she figured she may very well save for the rest of her life.  She wouldn’t be so quick to burn through these three, either.  She grabbed a couple of bottles of peach wine, which were sweet and strong, so she couldn’t allow herself too much of that at once.

Once she had everything gathered by the door she opened the front door to find a quarter inch of snow covering the Jeep.  It was interesting how the seasons didn’t match up between here and Republic City, just like she hadn’t seen any constellations she recognized in the night sky there.  It made her wonder what she transported between every time she went through a portal. 

Somehow, some way, everything fit into the Jeep, including the cello.  Her eyes scanned the tree line for any sign of her friend, not really expecting to see her, just hoping.  She started the vehicle and headed towards the portal, looking into her rearview as the house grew smaller before disappearing behind the tree line.  She didn’t feel the same way leaving the house as she did the last time she was here, and it was so hard for her to grasp that it was just a day and a half ago.  This time she felt like she was headed home instead of leaving it.

Some maneuvering had to be done to get to the portal considering parts of the woods were so tree dense, but she considered herself to have made good time as she pulled up to it.  She opened the back of the Jeep and grabbed as much as she could carry.  She took a breath and entered the pale pink line.

She experienced her typical fuzzy feelings before stepping through the other side.  She felt slightly winded, but otherwise completely fine.  She smiled to herself, very pleased at this new development as she looked around for Korra and Asami before spotting them crashed out under her tree.  She placed her items by Lefty, patting him before turning in for another load.

After three trips through, Tuesday was starting to feel it.  Her body felt as though it was holding up okay but her ears were buzzing and her mind was a little fuzzy.  She rattled off some memorized information to make sure she considered herself coherent enough to go in one last time, and after she passed her own test she entered.

Upon entering her ‘old’ world, one knee went out.  _Ah, there it is,_ she thought.  _Well, at least I seem to be building up a tolerance._   She gave herself a moment to regain her strength then went after the last of the items.  Piling them right next to the portal, she went back to close up and lock the Jeep before tossing a tarp over it and staking it to the ground.  She was kicking herself now because she had exhausted herself and she still had the rest of the day she wanted to spend with the girls.  Maybe since it was taking longer for it to fatigue her, the after effects wouldn’t last as long either.

She picked up the last of her things and stepped into the portal for the final time today.  As soon as her foot hit the ground in the Spirit world she knew she was in trouble.  Her head spun as static sounded loudly in her ears, and she could barely hear the dull thuds of the cases dropping to the ground before it quickly rushed up to meet her and she lost consciousness.

* * *

 

“Her eyes are moving like she’s waking up.  I could beat her for this if she weren’t already unconscious!” Korra said to her wife as Asami navigated the air bison towards the manor.  They had decided to forego picking up the truck considering they woke to find Tuesday passed out by the portal, having been stupid and Korra could just…

“Mmm.  Sounds kinky,” Tuesday mumbled, and those blue-grey eyes opened and gazed at her slyly.  She pushed herself up enough to lean against the side of the saddle, all the while maintaining eye contact.  “No one’s offered me that in quite awhile, and mind you, I’m conscious now.”

Asami’s beautiful laugh carried from the front of the bison into Korra’s ears.  She blushed and turned her gaze back to Tuesday.  “Why were you so stubborn?  You knew the toll it would take on your body!  Why didn’t you just wake us up?”

“Korra, I’m okay.  I went through four times today, and the first three times I actually did really well.  I think the more I go through the better my body gets at handling it.  Consider it me giving myself a portal workout.  I was exercising my portal muscles,” Tuesday said, chuckling.  “And I feel really good right now, given the circumstances, which means my body is recovering from the fatigue faster as well.”

Korra stared at Tuesday, trying to understand the feelings rushing through her.  She wasn’t really mad at their new friend… instead she was… why were women so hard-headed?  When Korra first saw her lying there, she thought the worst.  Once Asami had calmed her down and assured her that Tuesday was just sleeping, they loaded up her things and headed towards the manor.

“Please don’t do that again, or if you feel the need to ‘exercise your portal muscles’ again could you please make sure we’re present AND conscious first?” Korra asked, not wanting to scold but still wanting to get her point across.

“Yes ma’am,” Tuesday replied, her eyes on her hands in her lap.  “I didn’t mean to anger you.  I just didn’t want to wake you two considering I was the reason you were sleepy from the night before.”

Korra scooted over closer to Tuesday and put her arm around her, and she was pleasantly surprised when Tuesday rested her head in the nook of her arm.  “I don’t want to go back to the manor yet.  I’m fine, really.  Let’s go see the plot of land; I’m ready to visualize!  And we’re supposed to put the advertisement in the paper.  Come on,” she said, bringing those stormy blue eyes up to meet her gaze. 

Frozen still at the sheer closeness of her friend’s face, she tried to answer, but couldn’t seem to form any words.  Her lips were so close, and those freckles and pink cheeks and long, thick eyelashes…

_You need to say something to her, Korra._

She took the safe route.  “Hey Babe, let’s head to the truck.  Tuesday’s feeling fine!”

Asami’s head turned towards them as she asked, “Are you sure?”

“Yes!” Tuesday supplied her answer.

“You got it!” Asami said while turning Lefty, well, left.


	23. Drum Solo

The truck was loaded, Lefty had been thanked with a belly rub and treats and they were headed to an empty plot that would soon be home to her dream.  Tuesday still couldn’t get over the fact that these women were willing to do this with her. 

Asami was the driver, of course, and she was in the middle with Korra on her right as they rode into the ‘new’ downtown area of Republic City.  Asami was explaining that while some of the ‘old’ downtown had been salvaged, a lot of it had ended up as rubble, so they expanded outward.  It was still mind-boggling to her what they and this city had gone through. 

They entered a bustling area of the ‘new’ downtown and Tuesday looked around in awe.  Something about this was… familiar.  She grinned to herself as it clicked in her mind.  “Asami, you designed this whole area, didn’t you?”

“I did!  How could you tell?” Asami asked, clearly impressed.

“I see the Spirit World influence.  The other-worldly feel of it- the combination of textures.  Vibrant contrasts that still complement each other… it’s stunning,” Tuesday praised.  She faced the now blushing CEO.  “You’re an incredible artist.” 

Asami smiled, remembering the conversation previously held between the two of them.  “Thank you.  This area was constructed shortly after Korra and I got back from the Spirit world the first time.”  Asami’s cheeks reddened again as she reached across Tuesday’s lap for Korra’s hand. 

“We’re borrowing your lap for a moment,” Korra said, leaning in to Tuesday, grinning from ear to ear as she clasped her wife’s open hand.  Tuesday could only smile right back.  She adored their relationship.

The street was long, with thriving businesses and many small parking areas evenly scattered about everywhere she looked.  Asami pointed out her favorite hardware store while Korra rattled off which restaurants had the best food, but what Tuesday noticed was… “It seems like there isn’t much to do here other than shop, receive a service, or eat.  I know you said there was an arena, but the pro-bending season doesn’t last all year, right?”

“No.  There are a few jazz clubs, and there are balls and galas sometimes, but you have to be on a list to get into those.  But you’re right.  Maybe we should see about building something family oriented as well,” Asami stated. 

“Dude- you should build a water park or an amusement park or even a combination of the two.  Have some of the rides extend over the bay… come on.  That would be amazing!” Tuesday grinned before a thought crossed her mind.  “Do you guys have roller coasters here?”

“Oh yes.  There’s only two, maybe three on the whole planet.  I’ve only been on one.  When I was away at school during my teens we went to the Fire Nation and I rode the roller coaster on Ember Island.  It was slightly intimidating, but thoroughly exhilarating.  I’d need to know a LOT more about them before I’d ever build one.  Korra’s not ridden one, but we’ll have to fix that,” Asami said, quickly winking at Tuesday.

She flicked her turn signal and Tuesday saw the empty plot next to the parking area they were turning into.  It was so much bigger than she had envisioned; this place was going to be so great!  Her mind started going a mile a minute with ideas she wanted to share with the two of them; the layout of the place with Asami, the drink menus with Korra. 

Tuesday was beaming as she slid out of the truck and immediately started pointing to random spots on the ground and in the air, spreading her arms and drawing lines in the dirt before she realized her friends were looking at her with these strange little smiles on their faces.

“What?  Am I… uh,” she suddenly felt awfully bashful.

“You’re adorable, that’s what you are,” Asami answered. 

“I… um, suppose I got a little carried away.”  _What did she mean, adorable?_

“We love it.  It shows your ambition, which only gives us more confidence in you, not that it ever really lacked,” Korra chipped in.

“This is going to be unreal.  You two will love it!”  _I mean, I know what adorable means but…_

“I’ll get in touch with some people on the radio tomorrow.  We’ll get a move on this; I’m too excited not to!” Asami shared, practically bouncing in her boots.

“Now that I’ve seen the size we have to work with I can draw up some rough sketches, if you want.  I’m no architect but it’ll be enough to give you a rough idea of an ideal venue.”  _Adorable means attractive?_

“That would be a great idea and so helpful,” Asami replied sincerely, nodding.  “I really want your hand in this.”

Tuesday nodded, not sure of what else to say.  Her mind was pulling her in two different directions at the moment, so she figured it was best she kept her mouth shut. 

They walked around several more minutes, tossing out random ideas to one another, and by the time they settled back into the truck they had a rough idea of how they wanted it to look. 

Placing the ad in the paper took very little time, thankfully.  Tuesday was anxious to get back and unload the instruments.  She had already explained to Asami her cord, plug and outlet concerns, and the engineer was confident that she would be able to figure it out easily.  Naga was in the front yard of the manor waiting for them when they arrived home.

“You have no idea how much I love you playing your guitar, so don’t hate me when I say I’m really eager to hear you play all your other instruments!” Korra exclaimed as the three of them started unloading the contents of the truck into the manor.  “And honestly, I’m so happy about being able to see a live band perform soon I can barely contain myself.  Don’t get me wrong, I like jazz and the galas and everything but it’s going to be so nice to have something different to do, and the best part of it is it’ll all be ours.”

Tuesday nearly dropped the cases in her arms when she saw how much Korra was holding and continuing to hold very steadily as Asami piled on more.  The Avatar must have seen the flash of worry in the musician’s eyes because she said, “Don’t worry, I have the balance thing down pretty well,” before winking and walking into the manor.

Unloading the truck was nothing compared to loading the Jeep, and within minutes they had every case consolidated into a sitting room Tuesday barely remembered seeing when they gave her the grand tour, but then again she had spent most of her time looking at other things… two things in particular.  Together they moved all of the furniture against the walls and Tuesday began opening the cases for the drum kit. 

As the three of them worked happily and cohesively together, Tuesday’s heart swelled in her chest.  She’d only ever really had one close friend, and though her relationship with Chloe had been special and deep at one time in her life (before she banged her girlfriend in their bed), it didn’t feel the same as this did.  This felt so easy; conversation flowed between the three of them.  Spending time with them was just comforting… and comfortable.  She felt appreciated, cared for, cared about… feelings she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

As soon as the drums were assembled, Korra handed her the sticks, like she’d had them in her pocket and was waiting for this very moment.  “Will you play something?”

“Well, playing a song on the drums without the other instruments… it’s not the same as me playing a song for you on the guitar.  But I tell you what… how about a little solo?”  With that, she took the sticks from Korra and settled onto her stool.  She slid off her sandals mumbling, “Better bare feet than sandals for this,” and settled the snare between her knees.  Her eyes closed as she found the balance for the drumsticks in her hands, and holding them loosely she started a drum roll on the snare.  She started to slowly bring in the bass drum, and just as easily as breathing she went into a killer solo that lasted for a solid minute.

When she looked up, both women were staring, mouths the slightest big agape.

“You know if you two do that look too much, your face will freeze that way,” she delivered, deadpan.  Their laughter floated into her ears and headed right to her heart.  One of her favorite things in the whole world was making them laugh, and she was pleased she did so often.

Asami fiddled with the wires, amps, and some speakers she had brought from the company with the truck as Korra and Tuesday sat on the floor, Statler in her lap, Waldorf in Korra’s.  “You’re holding my bass.  This was Dewey’s,” she said, thumbing a few strings.  “He taught me bass.  Everyone in my family taught me an instrument.  I am really thankful I was raised in a musical family.  It’s a universal language; I mean music brought you two to me…” Tuesday trailed off, not wanting to say too much.

“It sure did.  Can you believe that was only four days ago?  It feels like we’ve known you a lot longer than that,” Asami said as she twisted some wires together before taping them off.  “And I think we may be set here.  I think you’re ready to plug in,” she said, beaming as she held up the finished cords.

Tuesday handed Statler to Korra and she carefully placed it in its case for her.  Feeling giddy, Tuesday stood and thanked Asami with a hug, giving the brilliant beauty a huge smile as she pulled away.  She took the cords and walked around, putting everything in its place and getting everything hooked up.  She eyed the room for her green Les Paul before realizing it was right behind her, and she pulled it from its case and eased the strap around her body.  She quickly tuned the guitar and pushed in the cord before switching on the amps.  The familiar hum of electricity brought a huge grin to her face, and she adjusted the volume before strumming the open strings.  She adjusted the microphone stand to her height and tightened the lock as she looked up to see ocean blue and vivid green watching her every move.   It warmed her so deeply to see the matching smiles on the two gorgeous faces of the women in front of her.  She grasped the neck of the guitar knowing exactly what they were waiting for, but she had a decision to make. 

If she wanted, she could use songs as opportunities to somewhat confess what she’s been feeling to them.  Her guilt over them being married and ruining this amazing friendship was the only thing holding her back, though she could almost swear that they looked at her with something else in their eyes.  She couldn’t say anything outright; what an awful thing to be wrong about, but through the subtlety of music…

She looked up at them from under her lashes.  It was game on.  Her eyes closed as the beginning lyrics fell from her lips.

_Don’t you be wasting all your money_  
_On syrup and honey_  
 _Because I’m sweet enough_  
 _Don’t you be using every minute_  
 _On making a living_  
 _Because we got our love_  
 _Listen to me_  
 _One, two, three_  
 _Baby, baby, baby_  
 _Spend your time on me_  
 _Don’t you be out all night long_  
 _Leaving me all alone_  
 _Because I need your live_  
 _Don’t you be spending every day_  
 _Working away_  
 _Because I’m waiting for you_  
 _Listen to me_  
 _One, two, three_  
 _Baby, baby, baby_  
 _Spend your time on me_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> because for some reason I want to keep posting chapters every day


	24. A Fight or Two Breaks Out

“Are you absolutely sure you feel well enough for this?” Asami asked Tuesday, her voice filled with concern.

“Yes, Mother!” Tuesday replied as she walked out from behind a partition, wrapping her wrists.  She was smart and had taken out her lip ring and her hair was braided and tucked underneath itself so it was only half the length it normally was.  Asami couldn’t help but stare at her scantily clad friend.  A tight pair of shorts that reached just past the middle of her thighs and a tank top was all Tuesday had decided to wear.  She had obviously bound her chest; another smart move.  She hoped the girl knew what she was getting into, and Asami hoped she wouldn’t get caught staring… too much.

“Are you sure you don’t want pads?” Korra asked, fidgeting as though she was afraid she was going to break her friend.  “How long did… You know how to defend yourself?”

“How about you come over here and find out,” Tuesday said, stretching her arms before sending Korra a quick wink.

_Spirits, that was hot,_ thought Asami.  Looking at her wife’s face, she could tell she thought so too, but she also knew Korra would accept the challenge wholeheartedly.  “Go easy on her, Babe.”

Korra gave her a knowing look before turning back to Tuesday.  She walked forward and met Tuesday in the middle of the sparring circle.  “All right, you cocky little cutie, here’s the deal.  No bending, no breaking, no biting.  Pretty much anything else goes.”

“Aww, no biting?  But how else am I supposed to distract you?” Tuesday answered without even the slightest hint that she was joking showing on her face.  “Oh wait,” she said.  “Nevermind.”  She winked at Korra before bowing and turning and walking to her starting position, and Korra flashed a worried look over to Asami.

All she could do was shrug.  She had no idea what Tuesday could or would do, but she sure was excited to find out.  Korra made her way to her line and spun, facing Tuesday.  Before anything could happen, Tuesday spoke up.  “I want to make a bet.”

Her eyes mirrored her wife’s as they both widened at their friend’s demand.  “What sort of bet?” Asami inquired. 

“If I can last two minutes without getting pinned by at least one of you,” she started, those stormy eyes turning to her for the briefest moment before giving her attention back to Korra, “you two let me come to the Fire Nation with you.”

Asami tried to hide the grin on her face as Korra met her gaze.  Tuesday didn’t know that they’d already considered her going, and what was happening right now would basically be the indicator they needed to know that Tuesday could take care of herself in the event of something happening, which, as they both knew, was likely.

“Hmm.  Interesting proposal.  I think you have a deal,” her wife said, shaking Tuesday’s hand.  “But what do we get if both of us pin you in the allotted time?”

“Anything you want.”  Tuesday’s uninhibited answer sent a jolt of electricity through her.  If she only knew how loaded that answer was to them.

“Do we have to tell you what we want now?” Korra asked, and a sly grin stretched across Asami’s face as she pondered what her wife might be thinking.

“Nope.  Consider it an open favor to collect when you wish.”

“Deal,” Korra said, “Now show me what you got.”

Tuesday spaced her feet apart, knees facing Korra, as she held her arms in front of her.  With the nod of her head, Korra took off in a flash, coming right for her.  Asami checked her watch, noting the time quickly, not wanting to miss anything that was happening in front of her.

Asami’s mouth dropped open as Tuesday twisted so quickly she wound up behind Korra, and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head when Tuesday aimed and successfully delivered a low heel kick to the back of Korra’s knee.  Asami recognized the move as one not intending to cause pain but instead throw the attacker off balance, which she clearly succeeded in as Korra had to use an extra second to steady herself.  Tuesday was across the circle from her by that time, the smallest of smiles on her face, a flush of pink on her cheeks.  Korra’s eyes had darkened, and Asami could wager that although Tuesday had surprised her by getting the best of her… Korra had liked it.

_Spirits, they’re so gorgeous._

Korra went after Tuesday again, but this time more cautiously.  Her wife’s fists swung expertly and quickly, and Tuesday’s face showed pure concentration as she dodged every shot, eyes moving rapidly while reading Korra’s moves.  Asami grinned to herself.  Tuesday had at least taken self-defense quite extensively.  She recognized it having practiced many years of it herself.  Now she knew their friend’s game- allow Korra to wear herself out.  She grinned as she thought about how that wasn’t going to work when it was Tuesday’s time to spar with her.

Korra was finally picking up on Tuesday’s game and began to use more complex movements in the fighting styles in her arsenal.  Brute force could be evaded easily if one knew how to read the attacker’s movements, but the stealth that came in some forms of fighting made things easy to miss as Korra demonstrated when she finally landed her first blow into Tuesday’s right shoulder.  A hiss escaped their friend’s mouth and she shook her arm quickly, those fierce blue-grey eyes never leaving her opponent. 

Asami checked her watch.  “Thirty seconds left!” she shouted, and she watched as Korra lunged at Tuesday, realizing her time to pin the girl was running short.  Asami saw the weakness in Korra’s stance, obviously her being frantic had her being sloppy, and apparently Tuesday saw this as well, but she didn’t do what Asami expected.  As Korra used one swing towards Tuesday’s face to try and divert her attention, another blow was heading straight towards her solar plexus.  Tuesday pulled her head back and bent her knees, sending her into a crouching position.  She shuffled six inches to the side quickly before popping back up and grabbing Korra by the wrist and delivering three quick blows up the side of her body.  Before Korra could reciprocate, Tuesday had shoved her shoulder gently, once again making the Avatar lose her footing and stumble in the opposite direction.

“Time!” Asami yelled, thrilled, dumbfounded, and a little more than excited.

“Yes!” Tuesday shouted, and she grabbed Korra, wrapping her arms around her and bouncing them up and down.

“I get to come with you guys, fair and square!  Unless you were going easy on me… please tell me you didn’t let me win.”  Tuesday was looking into Korra’s eyes, and Asami was melting inside.  A very large part of her wondered why Tuesday didn’t make her feel jealous.  When she touched Korra, or looked at her, not only did it not bother Asami, but she loved seeing it, and she found herself wanting to see more and more of it.  She’d definitely been a jealous girlfriend before, and she and Korra had discussed the confidence in their relationship being a contributing factor to the lack of jealousy, but still… something about all of this just felt different, albeit a really strange, unfamiliar, exhilarating, good sort of different. 

“No!  I didn’t take it easy on you, I swear!  Honestly, we were going to ask you to come anyway, we just wanted to see how you held up in a fight,” Korra said as she hugged the girl back.  “And I’m really proud of you.  You just evaded one of the strongest fighters in the world for two whole minutes!”

Tuesday pulled away, seemingly reluctant, Asami noticed, and walked over to her water bottle.  “It doesn’t sound that impressive when you say it like that.”

Asami and Korra laughed in unison.  “Trust me, it’s good.  But you’re not going to get away with self-defense sparring with me,” Asami said, shrugging off her jacket.  “I saw your game.  Now you have to go through me.”

“But I already won!” Tuesday mock argued, already in a stance as Asami joined her in the circle.  Korra cackled and moved to the side, taking Asami’s watch in her hands.

“This is solely for fun,” Asami winked, and she grinned even wider when Tuesday winked back.

“You’re in for it now,” Korra chuckled as she looked at their friend. 

Tuesday’s eyes were glued to Asami.  She was observant, Asami would give her that. She did so well against Korra because she was continuously calculating every move her opponent made.  Asami no longer felt as though Tuesday couldn’t take care of herself.  She had already shown she was very capable.

“You ready?” the non-bender asked.

Tuesday nodded and came for her, which completely threw Asami off.  She had expected her to do with her what she had done with Korra, but instead of staying on the defensive and allowing Asami to come after her, she immediately went on the offense.

_I told her I knew self-defense!  Is she crazy....oh._

Asami was taken completely aback at the speed in which Tuesday’s fists came at her, but them disappearing rapidly as they had been coming at her is what confused her, and before she knew it, her leg had been swept and she was flipping herself back up into an upright position.  Tuesday had gotten the best of her!  Oh, she was going to pin this girl!

Asami could move just as quickly, and she went toe to toe with Tuesday using many of the same methods she knew her opponent understood.  She saw her opportunity to make a move as Tuesday attempted to slide to Asami’s left, but she caught Tuesday’s arm mid movement and flipped her, Asami twisting her body into a roll so she could keep her arm locked with Tuesday’s as she went down.  The movement was fluid and allowed her to wind up on top of Tuesday, her arms tucked to her side, Asami’s legs holding them there. 

Tuesday was grinning hugely, cheeks pink as she breathed heavily from under her conqueror.  Looking down at her, Asami wanted to think it was the woman on top of her making those cheeks flush, those slate blue eyes sparkle, that breathing so erratic.  She wanted her and Korra to be the reason Tuesday looked like that, but she didn’t want it to be sparring they were doing to get her that way.  She looked up at her wife, and Korra’s face only strengthened her feelings, as she was always able to tell what she was thinking by looking at her, and behind those darkened cyan eyes Asami recognized warmth, longing, and desire.

Tuesday hadn’t said a word from her position, so Asami hopped up and offered her a hand.  “Are you okay?” she asked as Tuesday grasped her hand and hopped up. 

“Oh, absolutely.  I’m more than fine,” she said, her face profusely red.  “That was… we should do this more often,” she said.  “I’m going to grab a shower.  Would you two mind if I cooked us dinner?”

“I will never complain about your food,” Korra said.  “Everything you’ve made us so far has been so good.  Seriously, I say you cook for us forever.”

“I second that,” Asami chimed in. 

A realization hit Asami quick and hard- if Tuesday left and never came back it would hurt.  It wouldn’t hurt nearly as bad as it did when Korra was gone but Asami always sort of knew in her heart Korra would make her way back to her someday, but with Tuesday being a ‘realm-walker’ of sorts, they could never really know if she would always come back.  And it hurt.

Tuesday gave them a sideways grin as she exited the gym, and Korra stepped into the circle.  “You want to have a go, Champ?”

“Korra, you know that someday this girl may leave and never come back.”

Her smile fell as she walked over to place her arms around her wife.  “I’ve thought about that.  She can go where we can’t follow, and if we can’t always protect her, we may not always be able to keep her safe… but I hope that she’ll always be able to, and we can share what we know with her.”

“What if she goes to some other place and finds other friends she likes better than us?”

“Won’t happen, come on.  No one is cooler than us!”  When she didn’t smile, Korra said, “Seriously though- have you seen the way she looks at us?  Asami, I think she feels like we do.  Her cheeks definitely went darker as soon as you were on top of her.”

“Maybe she couldn’t breathe,” Asami replied.

Korra laughed as she tightened her hold on her.  “Maybe not, but I don’t think that was the case.  And I wouldn’t worry, Babe.  I think she’s really very happy here, and I think she wants to stay in our lives.  Are we ready for that?”

Asami peered deeply into the eyes she loved so much.  She rested her forehead against Korra’s and answered her.  “I am.  Are you?”

“Yes,” she said, and Asami pulled her wife into her, bringing their lips together in a searing kiss full of all the crazy and wonderful things they felt towards each other.  They both knew Korra’s question held more behind it than what appeared, and they both knew they had answered the question honestly understanding that.


	25. Further Confirmation

“Tuesday,” Korra sighed as she rubbed her slightly protruding belly, “you’re going to make us chubby.”

At her suggestion they had taken dinner upstairs and out onto their balcony.  It was quickly becoming their favorite hangout spot.  Night had fallen on them, and Korra’s worries were a dull ache in the back of her mind, but she was refusing to let them bother her.  She was having too much fun.

Both of the beauties in her company, one on either side of her, giggled at her statement.  On her right, Tuesday said, “Well then, I suppose we’ll have to have some extra workouts and sparring sessions.”

“Speaking of that, where did you learn to fight?” Asami inquired.

“You called it right before.  Self-defense class was where I learned the techniques I used with Korra, but I used more Aikido with you,” she answered.  “Except for the Drunken Fist.”

“I recognized some of the movements you made,” she said to Tuesday before meeting her wife’s gaze.  “A lot of the chi-blockers made similar moves,” she directed at Asami.

“If it bothers you to see it, I don’t have to use that.  I can fight other ways.  The last thing I ever want to do is trigger any bad memories for either of you,” their friend offered, and Korra grabbed her hand. 

“That’s very considerate of you, but the moves were similar, not exactly the same.  I assure you we both want you to use whatever you have in your arsenal to your benefit,” she said, squeezing her hand.

“Okay, good.  And I will, too.  And I start my airbending training tomorrow, and I guess you could say I have more of a reason to work really hard in what little time I have before we leave,” Tuesday answered, returning the squeeze.  “I think I’m going running tomorrow.”

“Take Naga so when you get tired she can carry you back, well, if you’re anything like me,” Korra stated.

“What are you like?” Tuesday asked her.

Korra chuckled.  “I get ahead of myself and run too far out, and I end up exhausted a little more than halfway back.  But Naga’s stamina is better than mine so she carries me back.  I’m sure she’d do the same for you.  She adores you.”

“And I adore her.  What’s not to love?” Tuesday retorted.

Asami chipped in, “The saliva, but only that.  Even giving her a bath is kind of fun.  Luckily we pay for someone else to clean up her… the yards.”

She laughed, turning to Tuesday.  “I did NOT have that luxury until I moved in here.”

Both she and Asami jumped in their seats as Tuesday shot rapidly out of her chair.  “Sorry to startle you; I’ll be right back!” she shouted as she ran off.

She met her wife’s gaze and shrugged.  “Did we weird her out talking about Naga’s poop?”  She asked her wife, only half serious.

She cracked up.  “I doubt it.  She’s probably going to get some smoke,” Asami told her.

“I like that stuff,” she expressed.  “I haven’t had a single bad dream since I tried it.  It’ll probably only ever be a night time thing, though.  It does impair me a little, and being the Avatar means always being prepared.”  Being the Avatar was a burden and a blessing all rolled into one, and it literally meant having the weight of the world on your shoulders.

Tuesday reappeared on the balcony with her guitar hanging upside down on her back and her hands full of objects Korra couldn’t recognize.  She had changed into some pajama pants and a t-shirt that had nothing on it but a picture of a drum kit.  She stood facing them between their two chairs and handed a jar to Asami and a long glass… thing to her.  “Don’t tilt that.  There’s water in the bottom.  Nevermind, you could probably tell.”

Korra carefully turned the slightly heavy item in her hand, examining it.  She saw a small glass funnel protruding out of one side.  “Oh, I think I get it.  It’s a giant bubbler!” Korra guessed.

Tuesday laughed warmly.  “Close!  It’s called a bong.”

“And this is called a giant jar of weed,” Asami said, giving their friend a huge grin.  “Is this for us?”

“Yes, that is your stash.  I brought seeds back, too, so pretty soon we’ll be harvesting our own.  It’s really good for so many things.  The stems make insanely strong rope, and you already know about the psychological benefits; it’s a natural medicine…” Tuesday rattled off.

“…And it’s really fun to do to relax,” Asami added, and they all nodded together in agreement.

“Hey, uh, hold out your hands, and put them together side by side,” their friend awkwardly instructed.  Once they had complied, she placed a glass piece in their outstretched palms.  “This is for you two, also.  I bought a few off a guy when I was traveling.  You two have got to have a piece of your own to get through that jar,” she told them, a small smile on her face.  She pulled the guitar strap and the instrument slid around to her front.  She sat cross-legged on the floor of the balcony between the two chairs facing them, her guitar now resting comfortably in her lap.

She and Asami looked at their gift together in the dim artificial light burning from the lamp above them.  “Thank you, Tuesday.  This is really neat.  You didn’t have to do this,” Asami said.

“Yeah, well, I don’t do anything I don’t want to do, so…” she trailed off, her gaze focused on the guitar in her lap.

“It’s really sweet, thank you.  We love it.  It’s so pretty- all the colors twisted around like that inside the glass!” Asami pointed out. 

“Let’s break it in now,” Korra suggested, opening their jar.

“Not tonight,” Tuesday interjected.  “Tonight, you ladies lose your bong virginity.”  She takes the piece from beside Korra and fills the little funnel she noticed earlier.  “Here’s what you do.”  She took a lighter from her pocket, placed her lips inside the opening in the tube at the top, and sparked the bowl for a few seconds as she inhaled.  She grabbed a little glass extension that Korra hadn’t noticed was on the outside of the bowl and lifted the whole piece out before inhaling again.  She pulled her mouth away from the tube and gently dropped the sliding piece back into the base of the bong.  They sat and watched for another several seconds before Tuesday exhaled the largest puff of smoke she’d ever seen come out of a person.

“Oh man, if I feel that already, you guys are going to be blitzed,” Tuesday breathed.  She passed the bong to Asami.  “Your turn,” she said with a sly grin. 

Korra watched as her wife, as expected, followed the instructions perfectly.  Asami grinned at her when the huge cloud of smoke exited her lungs.  “Oh wow,” she said, leaning back into her chair, coughing just the tiniest bit.  “Head change.”  Korra took the bong from her wife, looking at the lidded eyes on the happy faces of the women in her company.  Feeling more confident with this new contraption than she did when the bubbler was introduced to her, she repeated the motions she’d given her attention to successfully.  She felt her lungs stretch comfortably around the smoke for a few seconds before exhaling.  Her mind went hazy and her body melted into her chair. 

They sat in silence for several seconds before soft music began to fill the air.  A smile on contentment rose on her face, and she turned her head to look at her wife.  Her head rested against the back of the chair and her eyes were closed, a tiny smile on her lips.  “I am married to the most beautiful woman in the world,” she whispered to Asami. 

Those bright green eyes opened at the sound of her voice, and her grin stretched wider before she argued, “No way.  I am.”

“No, me,” Korra said playfully.

“Yeah, well, I can say my closest friends are the two most beautiful women in the world,” Tuesday chimed in, her fingers still dancing across the strings of her instrument.

Korra grinned and look back and forth between Asami and Tuesday.  “So can I.”

“And me too,” Asami added.  The three of them erupted into a fit of giggles.  Korra could feel herself blushing at Tuesday’s compliment, and she looked at Asami to confirm that she was as well.  She was giving her a look that Korra deciphered as ‘she thinks we’re beautiful’.  She returned a look that said ‘beautiful does not always equal attractive’.  Asami nodded the slightest bit then shifted her gaze upon their friend.  Her eyes were closed, those long eyelashes brushing her pale pink cheeks, and she was humming.  “You… uh, think we’re pretty?” Asami asked.

Tuesday’s eyes flew open, a look of disbelief on her face.  “You’re kidding, right?  I mean, look at you two.  I meant what I said… about you two being the most beautiful women…not just in this world but in both of my worlds,” Tuesday said shyly.  She laughed nervously as she added, “You’re both just… amazing… and so insanely… hot.”  After the words left her lips, her eyes got wide for a moment before she squeezed them shut and began strumming her guitar again.

_She thinks we’re hot!_   She turned to look at Asami and her mouth was shaped in a tiny ‘o’.  Korra raised her eyebrows and nodded her head towards Tuesday.  Asami mouthed the words _‘We’ll talk later’_ and Korra gave a quick nod with her head. 

Tuesday’s fingers continued playing as her blue-grey eyes opened and looked at Asami.  “When we get back from the Fire Nation, while the venue is being built, I’d still like to work for you somehow when I’m not working on airbending.  It’s the least I can do for everything the two of you have done for me.”

Korra watched Asami’s face.  She could tell Asami was realizing Tuesday wouldn’t stop asking to help out somehow; she was like them.  They wanted to do, they wanted to help, it just felt natural to act.  “Okay.  We’ll find something for you.  You should definitely be a part of the venue’s construction somehow, so we’ll work it out,” her wife conceded. 

Tuesday closed her eyes again, satisfied.  Korra listened to the guitarist’s humming and the melody being played by her fingers.  Long, strong, skilled fingers like hers were probably really good at…

_Spirits, Korra, get a hold of yourself._

Clearing her throat to ensure her voice wouldn’t come out shaky, Korra said, “So when are you going to let us see your tattoos?” 

The music stopped as Tuesday’s stormy blue eyes opened.  She seemed nervous and… something else.  Korra wasn’t able to read this woman as well as she could read her wife.  “If you’re not ready, Tuesday…” she began.

“No.  I’ll show them to you, if you want to see them.”  She picked up the bong from beside Korra’s chair and treated herself to another hit.  “I don’t think you’re going to be able to see them very well out here, though.”

Asami reached for the bong as Tuesday offered it to her.  “We can hang out in our room.  We can see them well in there,” she offered.

After Asami had blown out her cloud of smoke, she handed the bong to Korra, and she took her turn.  She emptied the bowl of its ash and put it back in its place before giving it to Tuesday.  “Come on,” she said, nodding towards their bedroom as she exhaled.

Korra was first in the room and she ran and jumped on their bed.  She could hear the harmonious laughter from behind her before she flipped around to see the two women walking towards her.  “My big kid,” Asami chuckled as she crawled onto the bed, placing her back against the headboard.  Both she and her wife looked up at their friend, who at the moment was standing about five paces away from them, her hands fidgeting nervously in front of her, her eyes looking at anything but the bed. 

“Is there a chair I should pull up?  Or…” she stammered, her cheeks and her lips so red. 

_I want to kiss her._

Shaking her head for more than one purpose, Korra answered her.  “No, silly, come up here.”  She patted the spot in between her and Asami.

Obviously reluctant for reasons only she knew, Tuesday crept towards the bed and gently placed herself cross-legged between the two of them.  She took a deep breath and let it out, and Korra watched her hands as they grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it off.  She tossed it somewhere, but Korra didn’t notice where because her eyes were glued to the tight, black, cotton cami that so finely accentuated Tuesday’s womanly endowments.  _Stop staring, Korra.  Close your eyes, Korra._

Korra counted to ten before opening her eyes.  Brilliant green and slate blue were staring at her with amusement in their eyes.  “You all right there, Babe?” Asami asked, a tiny, knowing smile playing on her lips.  The light in her eyes told Korra she knew everything that was on her mind.

“Yeah.  Yes.  I’m fine.  I was just… thinking about something,” she managed.

The light was good in the room, and Korra could finally see their companion’s body art in detail.  Tuesday swept up her hair in both hands and tied it up so it wouldn’t be in their way. 

Tattoos were common in the Southern Water Tribe, but Korra had never seen anything like this.  The fine lines and brilliant colors were so detailed they could rival a photograph.  Asami’s voice broke through her thoughts.  “I can tell everything is a piece of you, a part of your story… would you explain what everything means?  They’re all so beautiful,” she complimented.

“Okay,” Tuesday said with a smile.  “I can do that.  Here,” she said, and she scooted into the middle of the bed and turned her left arm towards them.  “Now you can both see.”  She pointed to the compass on her shoulder.  “This is my newest tattoo.  I got this when I was traveling.  I was walking down a street in New York City and just walked into a random tattoo shop that had really good artwork on the walls inside.  The guy at the desk asked if he could help me, and I told him I wanted a tattoo.  He asked what I wanted, and I said I wasn’t sure, he could just give me something beautiful and I would enjoy it.  He shrugged, took me to his station and started prepping.  He asked me a lot of questions, most of which I don’t remember and probably didn’t answer, but at one point he asked me where I was headed.  I remember looking up at him and telling him, ‘I have no clue.’  I didn’t watch him tattoo me, and when he was done, there was this beautiful compass pointing northeast on my shoulder.  I loved the work, and I took it as a sign to return to my parent’s house.  Funny thing is, after I returned- it was the next morning I woke up and saw the portal in the distance.”  Something like a scoff escaped her lips as she shook her head and continued.

Drawing a line across the bottom of her bicep with her index finger, she explained, “Silhouette of a running team of wild horses.  Chloe’s family had a small ranch, so we grew up riding them.  I’ve always had such respect for them, such admiration.  Imagine my surprise when that mare met me in the woods by my house and took me the rest of the way to the portal!”

Tuesday turned her back to them so she could show them the top back half of her arm.  Although she couldn’t see, her hand pointed in familiarity at the scales intricately drawn in shades of black, grey, and white.  “Where I come from, the day and time you were born is believed by many to have a lot to do with your personality.  I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s something similar to that here.  Anyway, I was born a Libra, and the symbol for that are the scales.  They represent fairness and balance, which are things I’ve always believed in.”

Tuesday turned back around and dropped her hand in the nook where Korra and Asami’s thighs met, showing her forearm.  “Something else you may find interesting, as I certainly have since meeting the two of you, well… take a look for yourselves.”  She was pointing to the soft, pale flesh just under the inside of her elbow, and Korra gently grabbed her wrist, pulling the markings closer to her and her wife.  She heard Tuesday’s breath still and felt her body tense.  In an effort to comfort her without withdrawing her affection, Korra delicately traced her thumb over four small symbols.  Her jaw dropped as she realized what they were.

“The four elements…” she was dumbfounded.  “When did you get this?”

“My junior year of college.  I had taken a Philosophy class and these four elements are considered the foundation of the beginning of time according to the ancient civilizations of my world.  I had always felt attuned to nature as it was, and one day I was doodling on a pad of paper and drew these,” Tuesday told them as she nodded towards the four tiny drawings.  “Kind of crazy that I ended up meeting someone that could bend them.”  Korra watched as the woman once again shook her head in apparent disbelief. 

“If anything could prove to you that you were meant to be here and know us, I’d say it’d be the artwork on your arm,” Asami stated with the tiniest hint of a smug grin on her lips.

“It’s so uncanny,” Tuesday shared.  “I… I’m not really sure what to make of it.”

“Don’t let it overwhelm you.  For the last couple of days, you’ve just been riding it out, and you’ve been doing so well,” Asami assured their friend.

Tuesday’s head shook so slightly, so quickly that Korra almost didn’t catch it.  “No, I mean, yeah.  Yeah, you’re right.”

It seemed to Korra that Tuesday had wanted to say something else.  She met Asami in a sideways gaze, seeking confirmation that she wasn’t the only one who’d sensed it.  As soon as green met cyan, Asami nodded, and Korra turned her face back to Tuesday, who didn’t seem to have noticed their quick and silent exchange.  “Will you tell us more?” Korra asked her friend.

Korra felt her heart tighten painfully when Tuesday’s stormy eyes seemed to immediately tear up at her question.  She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a word out edgewise the portal-walker had placed her hand in the air between them.  “Don’t.  I’m okay.  There are always tears when I look at them.”  One slid down the musician’s cheek as she bent her arm in half, touching her shoulder with her fingers and exposing the patch of skin above her elbow.  Korra held in her gasp as she finally realized what it was.

There were footprints, two of them, one left and right.  Her eyes moved up and found those slate blue eyes brimming with more tears, and it was all Korra could do not to embrace the woman in front of her.  Doing so might put a halt to her control of this situation. 

Tuesday touched the tattoos of her babies’ footprints and cleared the grief from her throat.  “This is Mara on the left, Reese on the right, and their birth date in between.”  She delicately touched the numbers with the pads of her fingers. 

Hesitantly but intentionally, Korra reached up to touch the intricate artwork.  She put her thumb on each heel and could cover both prints with one hand.  “They’re so tiny,” she whispered, floored.  The ache that had settled in her chest when she first realized what the tattoo was had only worsened, and Korra could feel her eyes filling with tears.  Some of the things she had gone through in her life could easily be described as torture, yet even trying to imagine losing everyone you ever loved threatened to break her into pieces.  No longer feeling the need to refrain from affection, she used her strength to gently pull Tuesday across hers and Asami’s laps to hold her.

Asami joined in the embrace before the girl even had a chance to understand what was happening.  Korra’s hand found her wife’s arm, and together they pulled the woman closer to them.  She pressed her lips into Tuesday’s curls in a brief but heartfelt kiss.  “I am really sorry for what happened to them,” she whispered, “but they never really leave us, you know?  And not just here, on your skin,” Korra explained, brushing the tiny footprints with her fingers. 

Tuesday sat up and looked back and forth between them before dropping her gaze.  Korra watched as Asami tenderly placed her hand on the side of their friend’s face and brushed away a stray tear.  “Come on, you.  Show us more,” she said encouragingly.

She sniffled and smiled before stretching her arm out and pointing to a tattoo of green, black, and gold.  “This is an Irish harp.  Mom played the harp, and it was so serene, and beautiful, and elegant… all the things I never saw as synonymous with… well… me.  She wanted to teach me, but honestly, I liked that it was something she could play that I couldn’t.  It was something I always wanted to be just hers.”

Tuesday’s eyes glossed over for a moment before lighting up, and she jumped up and off the bed before Korra could register what was going on.  “Be right back!” she called out, running through the doorway and across the hall.  She and Asami laughed out loud when they heard “Son of a bitch!” and a crash in the next room.  Tuesday came in grinning a few seconds later, something small with a wire that split into two at the end in her hand.  “Sorry, I knocked over my guitar case.”

As she laughed, she heard her wife’s chuckle.  “No need to apologize here.  Vulgarity is highly appropriate in certain situations.”

Tuesday jumped back into her spot on the bed fluidly and held out the device.  “This holds music, a lot of it.  I don’t have a way to charge it here yet and I don’t want to let you break into it yet because if we mess it up I won’t have my music so… too late for a short story but I’ll need to go back to my portal, back to my world, back into town to get more of these cords for us to play with here.”  She inhaled deeply.  “But I digress.  I wanted to share something with the two of you, if it’s okay.”  Her gaze came from under her eyelashes as she searched Korra’s face, and then Asami’s, and was satisfied when she received nods from both of them.

Korra watched as Tuesday’s shaky hand reached up to tuck Asami’s hair behind her left ear before placing one of the ends of the wire, which held a little oval, into her ear.  She gave Korra a small smile as she repeated the motions with her right ear.  “This is a recording of my mom playing the harp.”  The woman then turned her attention to the thin device in her hands, tapping its surface a few times before a small, bittersweet smile spread over her lips.  She tapped the device again, and Korra froze as music entered her ear.

She leaned into Asami, and their heads rested together as they listened.  It was the most calming thing Korra had ever heard aside from her mother’s singing when she was little.  It had a different flow to it, and she understood why Tuesday wanted her mother to keep this as hers; it was soothing and gentle, just like a mother’s love. 

Her eyes closed as she allowed herself to sink into the music.  Korra could almost envision a smaller Tuesday watching her mother play this, a look of adoration on her face.  The thought tore her in two as she wanted to smile and weep for the girl at the same time.

When the music came to an end, she opened her eyes to find Tuesday’s hand returning the gesture her face had tenderly received earlier as she wiped a tear from Asami’s cheek in the same manner.  She wrapped her arm around her wife and pulled her close, kissing her temple.  “That was… to say it was beautiful isn’t giving it justice,” Asami said.  “I felt… I am sad in knowing I can never know her, but I feel like I just met her.  I see where you get it from,” she continued, smiling genuinely. 

Tuesday beamed as a single tear crept out of the corner of her eye.  Korra considered Tuesday to be absolutely gorgeous, but when her smile was unbridled she was breathtakingly beautiful.  Korra again fought the urge to lean in and kiss her.  She stole a look at her wife whose face seemed to tell the same story; the look in her eyes was easily recognizable.  Asami’s eyes were fidgeting back and forth between Tuesday’s eyes and her lips. 

All of a sudden she was having some difficulty breathing.  The thought of Asami kissing the woman in front of them sent a spike of heat through her core.  But before that could happen, there needed to be further discussion.  Korra took a deep, shuddering breath and sat up straight.  Her wife read her body language and casually mimicked it.  She smiled back at their friend before a yawn crept out of her widened lips.  “Sorry about that,” Korra apologized.

“No worries,” she said.  “Let’s finish this arm then conclude the tour of my tattooed body another day.”  They chuckled as she extended her arm and turned her palm up, and then down.  “As you can see, those are the major pieces of the three quarter sleeve.  The rest are just fill-ins… the bigger ones being the Celtic cross, snare drum and sticks for Dad, the bass for Dewey, and the piano keys for Mom.  There’s musical notes, clover, stars, spirals…”

“Did you know the spiral is an airbender symbol?” Korra asked.

A smile stretched across Tuesday’s face.  “I did not.”  A light danced in her eyes, and Korra could tell she was getting more ground under her feet with this whole ‘she’s meant to be here’ thing.

“I’m really excited we’re starting your training tomorrow.  I have a feeling you’re a natural,” Korra assured her.

“How did I luck out and get you as a teacher?  Doesn’t Tenzin usually teach all new airbenders?” Tuesday inquired.

“Yes, but he and I thought it would be best if I taught you, at least in the beginning.  We won’t be learning at Air Temple Island all the time.  We’ll mostly just stay here, at home, in fact.  But since I have to go there tomorrow anyway, we’re going to make use of some of the… learning tools they have on the island,” Korra explained.

Asami groaned and put her head in her hands.  “What?” Tuesday asked them, eyes wide.  “Is it bad?”

“It’s tough.”

“You’ve done it… whatever it is?” Tuesday asked Asami.

“I have.”

“So you don’t have to be an airbender to do what she’s making me do tomorrow,” Tuesday interrogated, nodding towards Korra.  She chuckled.

“No, but you’ll understand everything tomorrow.  Don’t worry.  I believe in you,” she reassured her.  “Now come on, back to the tattoos.”  Honestly Korra wanted an excuse to keep the girl with them longer.  She wasn’t ready to say good night just yet.

“You’re sleepy,” the girl argued.

“Other arm, please.”

Tuesday looked at Asami.  “Is she always this stubborn?”

“Yes, but she seldom wins,” she said with a smile.

“That’s because I can’t say no to you, especially when you start whispering in my ear and…”

“Korra…” Asami interrupted.

“…giving me those eyes.”

In finishing her statement, Korra realized she had one- given Tuesday ammunition against her and two- made everyone in the room blush.  Now she knew why Asami had tried to stop her… it was tense, and while she could read her wife, she had no idea what the other woman on the bed was thinking. 

She was shocked as a pink-cheeked Tuesday gave them a grin.  “Oh, I hope I see that in action someday.  I love watching you two interact.”

Oh, that could be taken so many ways by a dirty mind.

“Tattoos,” was all Korra could manage.

Tuesday sighed and complied by sticking out her right arm.  “Sucker,” Asami mumbled, grinning as she playfully nudged their friend.  She responded by sticking her tongue out at Asami, and for the first time, Korra noticed… “What is that?”

“My tongue is pierced,” she explained, and stuck it out again to show them.

Trying to calm her nerves right now was like trying to tame a pack of wild polar bear dogs.  “Oh.  Why…?”  Korra could think of many reasons why…

She sneaked a glance at her wife.  Her lips were slightly parted, and Korra could see the rise and fall in her chest from her quickened breathing.  Her cheeks were unabashedly pink and those green eyes were electric.

“I like the way it looked,” Tuesday paused before looking at them from under her eyelashes.  _She has to stop doing that!_   “I also heard it was good for kissing and… sex… so… yeah.”

Korra’s head was swimming so fast she thought she might pass out.  _Change the subject._   She nodded to herself, but directed it towards Tuesday.  “So, your right arm?”

A flash of worry made a quick appearance on Tuesday’s face before she stuck her arm out and moved it around.  “This whole arm is a theme.  Some of my favorite books growing up were about a little girl who fell down a hole and when she came to she was in another world.  Another time she walked through a mirror… she had to face trials and tyrants and riddles and… well, I’ll have to let you two read it sometime,” Tuesday said.

Korra leaned over to examine the artwork from shoulder to right below the elbow, about a quarter of the way down her forearm, just like on the other arm.  There was a checked pattern in the background while lots of interesting creatures stared up at her.  The little girl wore a blue dress and had long yellow hair.  There was a caterpillar-worm with many arms smoking something while he sat atop a mushroom.  The whole piece of work was exquisitely done, so bright and detailed.  Korra loved it.  “This is so neat.  I want tattoos now, Babe,” she said to Asami.

“Okay.  We’ll go get one.  Tuesday, you should come with us,” Asami offered, smiling at their friend.

“Definitely.  Wouldn’t miss it for anything,” she answered, returning the grin.  She turned her stormy blue eyes to Korra and held her gaze for awhile before looking back at Asami.  She wished she could decipher what she saw in Tuesday’s eyes when she looked into them.  She watched as Tuesday took her bottom lip into her mouth with the tip of her tongue before she bit down on it.  “Would you two like to see something else… if you’re not sleepy yet?” she asked quietly.

Asami nodded, and Korra followed, and they watched her as she got up off the bed.  She stood and turned slowly towards them, her hands timid as they moved to the drawstrings on her pajamas.  _What is she doing?_   Korra thought to herself.

As Tuesday’s pajama pants fell to the floor, Korra had to stifle the groan that threatened to erupt from her chest.  Her shorts matched her top, and they fit her curves so well Korra’s mouth started to water.  Peeling her eyes away from the beauty in front of her, one look at her wife told her Asami wanted to tear what little their friend had on right off.  She grabbed her wife’s hand and squeezed. 

In the midst of their reaction, Tuesday had climbed back up onto the bed.  She sat facing them, her legs bent out in front of her so the tops of her feet were easily visible to them.  Korra recognized the markings immediately.

Jasmine blossoms and vines covered her feet and ankles and started to disperse along the climbing vines as they traveled up her legs.  The leaves and blossoms looked so delicately drawn on her pale skin.  Korra wanted to feel them, follow them up her legs where they disappeared under her form-fitting shorts, but she refrained, squeezing her wife’s hand again to keep a hold on herself.

“These travel all the way up to… uh, under my shirt,” she explained.  There were no more words, and Korra was afraid the silence might give away their secret. 

“They’re beautiful.  Why jasmine?” she asked. 

“Mom gardened and had it growing all over the trellises in our yard.  I loved to sit underneath them and breathe in the smell.  After Dad died, she stopped gardening… she stopped doing almost everything she loved.  I wanted to carry the jasmine with me forever, so… here it is.”  She paused before hesitantly saying, “I feel as though I’m keeping you two up again.  Would you two like to go to bed now?”

“Aren’t there more tattoos?  I know I saw things on your back,” Korra asked.

“Yes, but I think we should save those for another day.  We all have a big day tomorrow,” Tuesday answered.  “You two should get to bed.”

“What about you?” Asami asked.  “We have yoga in the morning.”

“I’m going to bed too, don’t worry.”

“Would you like to stay in here… with us?”

Korra stilled having heard the question but unsure whether it was her or her wife who had asked.  _Oh spirits, was that me?_

Regardless of who asked, Tuesday answered shyly, “I really shouldn’t crowd you two… you’re newlyweds and have hardly been alone since you returned from your honeymoon…”

“That’s not what I asked,” Asami said, a shy smile on her face.  Korra exhaled with relief knowing she’d not been the bold one before sucking in a deep breath, anxious to see how this would play out.  “Don’t worry about Korra and I… we find time for one another,” her wife shared bashfully, and Korra felt her face flush with heat thinking about earlier that morning in her office.  “Besides, if we didn’t enjoy your company, you wouldn’t be here.  Korra, would you like it if Tuesday stayed with us tonight?”

Korra cleared her throat and tried to find her tongue.  _You only need to manage one syllable, Korra, get it out._ “Yes.”

A blushing grin pulled at the edges of Tuesday’s pink lips.  “Okay,” she said.  “I’ll stay.”

“Would you play a song before bed?” Asami asked the woman, watching Tuesday’s every move as she took her hair down.  She let it drop around her and Korra sucked in a breath.

“Aren’t you two tired of listening to me all the time?” she asked shyly.

“Along with your cooking, that is something we will never complain about,” Korra told the tattooed beauty.

She hopped off the bed and grabbed her guitar, grabbing a bottle of water along the way and taking a swig.  Korra couldn’t seem to control her eyes as they followed her every move, and a sideways glance at her wife assured her that she wasn’t alone.  Tuesday placed the water bottle on the bedside table and hopped back into her spot, cross-legged once again, the guitar nestled in her lap as if it was a part of her.  _It is a part of her,_ Korra thought.  The instrument was an extension of her body, just like bending was an extension of hers.

The song began softly, and Tuesday’s voice sent chills down her spine, just like it always did.  She pulled Asami close to her, kissing her crown, and settled in to listen.

_I don’t like you_  
_But I love you_  
 _Seems that I’m always_  
 _Thinking of you_  
 _Oh, oh, oh_  
 _You treat me badly_  
 _I love you madly_  
 _You’ve really got a hold on me_  
 _You’ve really got a hold on me_  
 _I love you and all I want you to do_  
 _Is just hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me_  
 _I don’t want you_  
 _But I need you_  
 _Don’t want to kiss you_  
 _But I need to_  
 _Oh, oh, oh_  
 _You do me wrong now_  
 _My love is strong now_  
 _You’ve really got a hold on me_  
 _You’ve really got a hold on me_  
 _I love you and all I want you to do_  
 _Is just hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These next two chapters might be all I post for a little while... unless I get bribed or coerced. Hope you enjoy them!


	26. Slightly Emboldened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW for some of you *cough budg cough*

Tuesday’s hands slowed to a stop, and she wanted to look at them, but she was afraid to. 

_All night… I could swear… But it’s probably just my imagination running mad._

What if when she looked into their eyes she saw that darkened look again?  She wanted to think it was… want, yet she wasn’t very good at reading people.  She didn’t even see it when her girlfriend and best friend were having an affair right under her nose.

But what else could it be?

“Are you okay?” Asami’s gentle voice broke the silence, and Tuesday allowed her gaze to find those vivid green eyes.

“Yes, sorry… I was just… thinking.  Was there smoke coming out of my ears?” she joked.

Korra and Asami cackled at her silliness and shifted in the bed, pulling the covers down.  The bed was huge, so Tuesday could hide on one side if there was tension between them.  She wanted to be here, in here, with them, but she did not want to sacrifice their friendship for it.

“I’m going to put my guitar in its case.  Are you sure you two want… don’t want to be alone?” she asked, not wanting to wear out her welcome, not wanting them to tell her to go.

“We’re lying down now; you’re welcome to join us if you want,” Asami answered.  Tuesday turned for the door, and Asami’s voice called out, “And sweetie, I wouldn’t have asked you to stay if we didn’t want you here.”

Tuesday smacked herself on the forehead as she continued across the hall into her room.  She put her guitar away before running into the en suite to brush her teeth.  She really had to stop asking people if they were sure about things.  She felt like an idiot.

She paused outside of their room and placed a shaky hand on the door frame.  Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself for what was coming.  Was she ready to put herself in this situation?  Exactly what was the situation?  Could she keep herself from touching them?  That one was increasingly difficult to control.

Even though her heart and her head couldn’t seem to come to any sort of conclusion, her feet made the decision by walking into the room.  A single lamp was all that was lit, and Tuesday watched as Korra tenderly kissed Asami, her hand on her cheek, the way Asami leaned into the kiss, the small sighs that came from them after they broke apart.  Noticing her there, they smiled and looked back at each other before they went separate ways on the bed.  It took Tuesday a moment to understand what was going on, not because she was dense, but because she couldn’t quite comprehend that they wanted her to sleep in the middle.

“Oh no.  You two… are supposed to sleep next to each other!” she argued.

“Is there some marriage rule book we don’t know about that states a rule saying married couples can’t cuddle their close friend?” Korra asked.

“No…” Tuesday was short on words.

“Tuesday.”

She turned to Asami.  “Yes?”

“Get in.”

Shutting her trap, Tuesday crawled into the space between the two women.  She rested on her back, placing her hands tightly against her stomach, hoping the pressure could hide her trembling.  A pulse of heat throbbed low in her belly as she watched Korra scoot closer to her, and it was the last thing she saw before Asami turned out the light.

Mentally, she was reminding herself to breath normally.  She felt Korra first.  She was facing her, and Tuesday froze as she slid her hand across her stomach.  Asami faced her as well, sliding her hand to meet Korra’s.  Tuesday could feel their entwined fingers through the thin fabric of her cami, and she felt like she might burst into flames at any moment. 

She pulled a hand off her belly and tested its steadiness before placing it with the two joined hands.  A million questions were running through her mind, questions she couldn’t ask without giving away how she truly felt to be lying where she was.  She wondered if she was the only friend they’d ever been close to like this.  Maybe it would be safe to get the answer to that if she phrased the question correctly.

“Hey, you two still with me?” she whispered, not wanting to wake them if they were already asleep.  Her face contorted into one of shock when she received quick, simultaneous answers.  Their hands stirred against her stomach, and she silently cursed herself for her wavering voice when she formed her question.

“Have you two ever had a close friend like this… like me before?”

They started to answer at the same time and giggled, and Tuesday couldn’t help but join them.  As it died down, Korra made a funny sound, something in between a laugh and a sigh, and Tuesday and Asami cracked up all over again.  The fit of giggles quieted down as Asami answered the question, her sultry voice so close to her ear that it caused Tuesday’s skin to break out in goose bumps. 

“I had some close friends in my teenage years that I cuddled with, but I feel closer to you than I did any of them,” she answered.

“How…?  Don’t get me wrong, I’m immensely flattered, but you’ve only known me four days,” Tuesday asked softly.

“For one, I didn’t have a lot of spirituality in my youth, but that obviously changed as soon as I met the Avatar,” she said, and Tuesday felt her squeeze Korra’s hand.  “Even more so when we fell in love… Raava spoke to Korra about me, and needless to say something like that is life altering.”

Tuesday gasped and squeezed their hands.  “Raava talks to you?  I mean I get that part because Avalon can talk to me but from within you?  That’s… wow.”

Korra giggled in her ear, and she shivered.  “Are you cold?” she inquired.

Ut oh.

_Tell the truth._

“Uh, no.  I’m fine.”

“Just a shiver?” Asami asked, her breath caressing her shoulder. 

_Oh, dear God._

“Y… Yeah.”

_Breathe._

“I can easily see why that would enhance your spirituality,” she continued, voice barely above a whisper, holding onto her will by a thread.

“Exactly, so, back to your question- our connection with you is clearly spiritual, and over the last several days, in getting to know you, I like you as well.  This friendship is already very deep.  Not that I didn’t like my friends at that age, but you know things are so different when you’re a teenager.  It’s not that we lacked depth in our youth but… you just don’t know as much about yourself to share with other people, I suppose,” Asami explained. 

“And I grew up in a compound where I only had Naga to cuddle with,” Korra reminded her.

“So to answer your first question- Spirits, we go off on so many tangents- we have close friends, but none like you.  We are affectionate with our friends, but not… not like this,” Asami added, her voice soft.

_Huh._

Asami’s answer made Tuesday feel emboldened.  She wasn’t completely sure if she was right in thinking that they’d been flirting with her.  She still couldn’t figure out exactly what those darkened looks meant, but she decided then and there that she was here and she was going to be present.  To hell with what happened.  She was going to ride the wave.

She took her other hand and placed it with the two on her abdomen.  Her heartbeat echoed in her ears so loudly she was sure the women beside her could hear it, and if they did, oh well.  She felt like a million bucks right now.  They wanted her here, and she wanted to be here.  Maybe it wasn’t so innocent, maybe it would have to stop soon, but right now, she had two amazing sexy women on either side of her and she wanted to enjoy it.  She gave herself a sly grin in the dark.

“I’m going to turn on my side.  Which direction do you prefer we go, ladies?” Tuesday spoke softly, her voice unintentionally but beneficially sexy.  _Damn.  I sound good to myself._   She could hear their mouths opening and closing in the dark, apparently unable to find words to answer her.  Five seconds passed without a word, so she took it upon herself to decide. 

Wiggling the slightest bit to turn onto her left side, she placed her backside to Korra and faced Asami.  She held her breath as she felt Korra shifting closer to her.  Impulsively she reached a shaky hand towards Asami’s waist.  When her hand made contact, the thin fabric skimmed across the skin beneath it, and Tuesday could only imagine how soft that skin must be. 

Her breath caught in her throat as Korra’s fingers brushed her neck, sweeping her hair back and holding it in between them so she wouldn’t lay on it.  Tuesday felt the warmth of Korra’s body as the bender pushed herself flush against her back, and her lips parted to allow the short, quickened breaths coming from her chest an escape. 

Asami turned onto her left side and backed herself against Tuesday.  Inhaling a shaky breath, she felt like she’d lose her mind if she over thought what was happening right now.  She gently wrapped her arm around Asami as she felt Korra’s arm reach across the both of them, pulling them to her.  Asami rested her hand on top of hers and sighed. 

This felt… needed.  It had been too long since she’d had this kind of human contact, and her mind, body and soul were deprived of it.  A tear escaped the corner of her eye and fell to her pillow as their embrace warmed the coldest, farthest reaches within her.

Sleep came easily to her that night.


	27. The Gates

“Mrs. Sato?”

Asami looked up from her clipboard into the inquisitive eyes of her assistant.  “Since when do you call me Mrs. Sato, Dorian?” she asked.

“Ever since you didn’t hear me call you Asami…twice,” he replied, a smirk on his face.  “What’s with you today?  Are you still reveling in your new marriage?”

She was, but there was an interesting, beautiful, intelligent addition to it as of lately.  All morning her mind had been wandering.  It was hard to forget how the three of them had woken up together- close, but not awkward, arms entangled and an obvious apprehension to entwine their legs.  She and Tuesday did yoga for a half hour while Korra did… something else, and many times Asami caught herself staring at the subtly rippling muscles underneath the woman’s tattooed skin.  Afterwards, the three of them ran a half hour, got ready then left the manor together.  Tuesday distributed fruit and granola in the car as they rambled on about what the day had in store.

It had been so fluid and fun.  Talking came easily with the young woman.  They had obviously shared an intimate moment last night in their physical closeness and it only left Asami wanting more. 

She and Korra had a brief conversation that morning as they went about their morning routine in their en suite.  As usual, they were on the same page, which Asami had already figured out from reading her face and her body throughout the evening.  Her wife was visibly relieved to learn that she too had struggled to keep her touches innocent. 

When Tuesday put her hand on her waist last night, she fought but barely won the battle against the urge to lean forward and kiss those supple, pink lips that she couldn’t see but knew were there.

“…and you’re gone again.”

“Dorian, I’m so sorry.  When is Libby arriving?” she inquired.

“I’m right here, Mrs. Sato,” Libby chimed in from behind her.  Asami twisted her chair a bit before pinching the bridge of her nose and squeezing her eyes shut.

“Spirits, all right, I’m good, let’s go.”

* * *

 

To say Korra was amazed would be an understatement. 

Everything she had thrown at Tuesday early in the day had been at beginning level and she had nailed it all.  She had also been correct in her assumption that the new airbender had a lot of raw power; the gusts that were coming from her were surprisingly strong.  By mid afternoon the long-haired beauty was racing her and the kids around the island on an air ball.  Tenzin’s look when he realized it was Tuesday that had passed him was simply priceless. 

Korra was waiting to introduce her to the gates until later.  Asami wanted to be there for that.  The quick, flowing way Tuesday could move when she sparred yesterday led Korra to believe that she might be able to get through the gates easily.

Jinora had taken over with Tuesday for awhile so Korra could meet with Tenzin and Lin.  They stood across the yard, able to see her training but not hear anything.  Everyone was clearly impressed with her progress.

“This is miraculous,” admitted Tenzin.  “How has she been doing over the last couple of days?”

“I haven’t been training her.  Today is her first day,” Korra answered, the awe apparent in her voice.

“I meant her state of mind,” Tenzin explained.

“Oh!  She’s been great!  She’s a wonderful cook and musician, and so funny and kind.  Naga loves her to pieces and…” Korra stopped as she realized she’d been gushing.  _Oh, I hope I’m not blushing_.

She looked up to find Tenzin’s gaze still on Tuesday as she worked on forms, but Lin was looking at her curiously. 

_Oh, damnit.  Of course the cop can see it._

_What is ‘it’, exactly?_

 “So when are you leaving?” Korra inquired.

“At the end of the month.  I do hope you’ll be back in time to help Jinora,” he expressed.

“From the look of things, I don’t think she’s going to be needing much help, Tenzin,” Korra gestured towards her friends as she spoke.

“It’s not her teaching skills I worry about.  I know she’s almost eighteen, but she’s still my baby.  She’ll be without her parents for the first time… and… alone with her boyfriend,” Tenzin confessed.  “She may need someone around to keep her focused.”

“That kid of yours has plenty of focus,” Lin assured her old friend.  “She’s level-headed and smart as a whip, too.  I wouldn’t worry about her.” 

Tenzin’s smile was a little bittersweet.  “I know.  It’s just going to be difficult, and it’s strange, too.  We have one on the way and one leaving us… maybe two.  Don’t ever tell Jinora or Meelo this, but Ikki is the best teacher we have on the entire island.  Her ability to change her way of thinking to reach everyone’s personal learning preference or level is… mind-blowing.  Did I tell you she turned down receiving her tattoos?” Tenzin asked quietly.

“No, but Pema did.  She said Ikki understood that you and Jinora felt she earned them, but _she_ didn’t feel like she had yet.  I totally respect that,” Korra said proudly. 

“I do, too.  But, as I mentioned to you before, I felt I couldn’t ask it of Jinora to take care of Ikki as well as everything else.  We did speak to her, and she said you wouldn’t care if either she or Ikki showed up at the manor out of the blue,” he laughed.

“It’s true.  I’ll just tell my girls to expect your girls at any time,” Korra chuckled to herself before she noticed Lin’s gaze on her again.  _Damn it!_   She stuck her tongue out at her to play it off, and she smiled when Lin rolled her eyes. 

Korra’s mouth popped open as she watched Tuesday integrate a move she used on her yesterday into an airbending form and successfully pull it off.  Jinora clapped and Tuesday gave her a high five.  This woman was simply amazing.

“Tenzin, do you still have that white glider?”

An air acolyte had given Tenzin a white glider during a visit to one of the air temples, and although he appreciated the gift, he had no use for it, preferring the glider suit under his cloak.  “I do.  Would you like to borrow it for Tuesday?”

“Yes.  I’d like to train her with it.  It could come in handy.  She’s coming to the Fire Nation with us,” Korra said.

“Are you sure she can handle herself?  We’re used to this sort of thing.  We can’t have her being a liability,” Lin said, voice stern.

“We sparred with her yesterday.  She evaded me for two minutes and lasted over a minute before Asami pinned her,” Korra stated, still in shock over yesterday’s matches.  “She has those skills plus the airbending she’ll have picked up over the week.  I feel confident she’ll be an asset.”

“Well, I’ve come to learn to trust your judgement, kid,” Lin said, watching Tuesday grin as she performed with her element, her eyes lit up in wonder.

* * *

 

Asami felt nervous for Tuesday.  She hoped the crowd wouldn’t intimidate her, but when she talked with Korra over the radio earlier she had said Tuesday had perfected everything Korra and Jinora had shown her.  She felt proud of her friend, and she was going to tell her so, but for now, it was time for her to face the gates.

Tenzin, Jinora, Ikki, Meelo, Pema, Bumi, Lin, Kya, Korra, Asami, Kai, Opal, and Rohan all stood in the vicinity in bunches, their heads turned towards Tenzin as he explained to Tuesday what she was facing.  Everyone laughed as Meelo yawned and yelled, “Be the leaf!” while pumping his fist into the air. 

Asami stood near Tuesday, Korra at her side, and they noticed her shaking.  “Take a deep breath.  I want to be honest with you.  There’s a chance you won’t get this on your first run.  I’ve never seen anyone do it, so when you get hit, just recover quickly, keep your eyes open, and you’ll be okay.  I’ve watched… I’ve seen you.  The way you focus on your competitor is like a predator watching its prey.  You can do this,” Korra assured her.

Tuesday’s gaze shifted to her.  “She’s stubborn, but she gives a really good pep talk,” she said, a shy smile on her face.  Asami chuckled, and Tuesday turned to face the gates.  She watched the woman take a deep breath, and Korra shot a blast of wind and sent the obstacles spinning.

There was a collective wince from the whole group when Tuesday got smacked out of the circle about a third of the way in.  She got up quickly, but the dark red spot on her right cheekbone was easily visible.  She walked back towards her and Korra, and Asami reached out, wanting to look at her cheek, but Tuesday held up her hand.  The ambition to succeed at this task lit up those stormy eyes, and she easily admitted to herself how incredibly hot Tuesday was right then, bruised cheek and all.

Korra sent a fresh wave through the gauntlet, and this time Tuesday appeared to get about halfway through before everyone heard two thuds before she came crashing out of the doors backwards.  She was a little slower getting up this time, but she stood and backed up towards Korra, a growl in her voice as she demanded, “Again.”

Asami watched as Tuesday centered herself, taking in a deep breath and exhaling as Korra spun the doors again.  She flitted into and through the doors, and she thought she had it until she heard the thumps and Tuesday came spilling out of the doors on the right side.  Korra leaned over, a look of concern on her face.  Asami walked around to view their friend, and what she saw made her want to make her stop for today.

Tuesday was on one knee and spitting blood from her mouth.  A huge purple contusion colored her left elbow in addition to the increasingly dark spot on her cheek.  A gash split her lip.  It was quiet as she stood, and Asami was considering telling everyone to leave.  The last thing she wanted was for her friend to feel uncomfortable.

When she returned to her starting position, she surprised everyone by shooting a gust and spinning the gates herself.  She watched the doors for a moment before she started to clap her hands quietly to herself.  Asami felt confused for a moment until her eyes went from Tuesday’s hands to the doors.  She was setting the gates to a beat.  _Of course!  Leave it to the musician._

A small, sly smile appeared on Tuesday’s face as she licked more blood away from her lip and blew another gust into the doors.  Asami watched her foot tap a few times to establish her pace before she slid into the doors.  It felt like everyone was holding their breath, listening for even the slightest sound, but none came. 

That was until the eruption of cheers started out on the other side of the gates and quickly spread like wildfire.  She and Korra ran over to their new friend to congratulate her, but when Asami arrived she felt more concern than joy.  Tuesday had taken some bad hits, and they needed to stop her bleeding. 

“You’re looking pretty tough with that split lip,” the endearing smile she gave Tuesday wasn’t forced, but it was intended to hide her worry.  She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and held it to the airbender’s lip.  “Does it hurt?”

“Nah.  I can barely feel it.  It’ll hurt later though, once the adrenaline has worn off, but I’ll be around some ice by then,” she answered.  Asami could feel those intense slate blue eyes examining her face as she tended to the swollen lip, tenderly adding pressure.

Korra was close to them, watching Asami care for their friend with an interesting look on her face.  “You won’t need ice.  We’re going home now and I’m going to heal you.”

People had made their way to Tuesday to congratulate her, and Asami smiled as Tuesday humbly blushed at their comments.  “That was really smart, Tuesday!” Ikki said from her side, and Tenzin gave their new friend yet another look of astonishment. 

“Tuesday, if you want to come back into the temple, I can heal those battle wounds,” Kya offered with a kind smile.

“Thank you, Kya, I truly appreciate it, but I already took Korra up on her offer,” Asami watched as Tuesday winced in her attempt to give Kya a grin. 

“Korra, Tuesday, let’s go into the temple at least to seal the gash.  It’s bleeding too much and we can take care of the rest when we get home.  Kya’s room is right there,” Asami demanded.  To her relief, they nodded and they ushered their friend into the temple, Kya and Lin following along. 

Kya had Tuesday sit on a stool by the bar in her kitchen as they quickly gathered a few bowls, some towels and the water they would need to assist in their tutelage.  Asami sat next to her and grabbed her hand.  The raised eyebrow on Lin’s face did not get past her.  For some reason, she did not care if Lin or Kya knew.  She trusted the both of them completely and knew they’d never gossip even if they did figure out exactly what was going on.

_What WAS going on?_

“I’ll take care of her lip if you want to work on the elbow.  I do better with superficial wounds anyway,” Korra told Kya as she bended a small glowing blue orb of water in between her hands, thinning it until it looked like a pancake.  “This is going to alternate between hot and cold, and there will be some pressure,” her wife told Tuesday, her voice deep and calm.  “You ready?”

“Yes, thank you, and you guys don’t have to coddle me so much.  I’m slightly wounded.  It was a challenge.  It was fun.  Stop acting like I’m broken,” Tuesday said with gentle authority. 

“Spirits, Tuesday, I could listen to you talk all day,” Kya said.  She turned her gaze from the ball of water she had fixed on the airbender’s elbow to her girlfriend.  “No offense, Chief,” Kya said to Lin with a tone Asami easily recognized.  She grinned at the cuteness between the two older women and her heart swelled for them.  Tuesday was trying to grin as well, though she wasn’t having much success. 

“Kya, please don’t get me arrested,” Tuesday mumbled through the water on her lip, and Asami shivered when Korra popped her hand to scold her for talking.

A hint of a smile played on Lin’s lips as she replied with a shrug, “I like the accent too.  I’m curious to hear this singing everyone’s talking about.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Korra said to Tuesday, their faces merely several inches away from each other, a huge grin on her wife’s face.

Asami’s gaze flitted back and forth between Korra’s face as she concentrated on healing Tuesday and Tuesday’s stormy eyes as they studied Korra’s face.  A strange feeling washed over her in that moment.  _Solidarity?  Yes… but that’s not it. Attraction, sure, but I already knew that._

_Finality?_

Asami heard voices but didn’t listen to conversations as her eyes watched the women next to her.  Korra focused on Tuesday’s bottom lip until it was back to its normal size and only sporting a thin pink line where the gash used to be.  She moved the old water into one bowl and took some fresh water from the bowl beside it.  Forming the water into another glowing pancake, she fixed her hand to the nebula of colors on Tuesday’s right cheek, placing her right hand in those long, dark curls to steady their friend’s  head. 

“Asami, did you hear what Lin just said?” Korra said, interrupting her thoughts.

“No, sorry, I was watching you work,” she admitted.  “What’s going on?”

“Kya and Lin are coming with us.”

“Oh!  Okay, you two do know Bolin and Opal and Mako are coming also, so you don’t have to come…” Asami began.

Lin cleared her throat.  “I have to share some news with you.  News Mako already knows and has known for the last six months, however, it’s still news that needs to be kept in this room.”  Asami watched as Lin’s eyes fell on Tuesday, and she nodded reassuringly at the chief over her friend’s head.  She needn’t worry about the trustworthiness of their friend, of that Asami was sure.

“I’ll be fully retiring from the force in about two and a half years.  Mako will be taking my place as Chief.  He’s been training, but now it’s more extensive and he isn’t going to have as much time for his duties with Team Avatar.  He’d been trying to find a way to tell you, but he’s about as good with this stuff as I am,” Lin explained.  “He won’t be able to come this time, which is part of the reason Kya and I want to join you.  Su, Wing and Wei have offered to meet us there as well.”

“That would be… great.  A team like that with Iroh behind us will hopefully allow us to resolve this quickly and with fewer conflicts,” Korra stated, those ocean blue eyes never leaving Tuesday’s face.  “Thank you, Lin.  And for the record I’m happy for you.  You deserve retirement.”

“Thanks, kid.  Maybe I’ll be around to see your retirement,” Lin said with a rare chortle.

“You know the Avatar can’t retire, which means you can guarantee I’ll be an old lady running around in water tribe gear still kicking ass with all my wrinkles.”  Korra chuckled at herself and the others in the room joined in on the laughter.  She pulled away from Tuesday and Asami could see that her cheek was a pale yellow now, nearly healed completely.  “That should be better within a day or two, right Kya?”  Korra inquired.

The healer looked up from Tuesday’s elbow and nodded in confirmation.  “That was quick work, Korra.  Good job.”

“I learned from the best,” Korra beamed.

“Who’d you learn from?” Tuesday asked, intrigued.

“Katara, Kya’s mother.”

“Oh, now I remember.  It feels so much better.  Thank you both so much,” Tuesday said sincerely.

“Are there any other places that hurt?” Korra asked. 

“My shoulder, just a bit,” Tuesday replied.

Korra moved to her shoulder and gingerly touched the bruise that was hidden with ink.  She pooled more water between her hands and set to work.  Asami heard a sigh escape Tuesday’s lips.  She squeezed the airbender’s hand.

As Korra and Kya finished their work on Tuesday, the lot of them finalized their plans for the Fire Nation trip.  Asami shared with them the plan that she and Korra had discussed on their way to work.  “Having more metalbenders is really going to help,” Asami added.

“Tuesday, you’re going to be learning how to keep an air bubble around you in the water tomorrow.  I hope you’re a good swimmer,” Korra gave their friend that lop-sided grin she adored so much.

“We’ll fill in Bolin and Opal, and you tell Mako we aren’t mad with him.  When he’s Chief he’ll probably always be with Team Avatar, though I hope we have little need to assemble,” Asami stated.

“Hear, hear!” Korra said, helping Kya clean up from the healing session.  “Now can we go home?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I received some bribes from a loyal reader, so it benefits all of you, I hope. Enjoy!


	28. Back and Forth

When they arrived at the car, Korra leaned into Tuesday, beaming and said, “We’re actually not going home just yet.  We have something to show you.” 

Today had proven to be an exhausting day, but Tuesday felt better than she had in years even though those gates had kicked her ass.  She got a giddy feeling when Korra told her this, because she was smart enough to have an idea as to where they were going. 

On the way there Asami chimed in that she wasn’t allowed to cook tonight.  Before she could argue Asami stated dinner was to be delivered to them that night, and it was sushi- her favorite- so she kept her mouth shut.

As they entered the area of town Tuesday recognized as the neighborhood that would soon be home to her place of employment, she practically started bouncing in the back seat.  What could they possibly be showing her after just one day?

If her jaw could fall off, it would have.  Tuesday’s audible gasp brought smiles to her friends’ faces.  They appeared to be more than satisfied with the work that had been completed, but Tuesday was in complete shock.  Then it hit her.

Benders.  Of course they can build faster.  They don’t need tools to manipulate materials.  So.  Freaking.  Awesome.

“At this rate, how long until it’s done?” she inquired, her voice barely audible. 

“Well, the building will be completely finished and completely in code within two weeks, three weeks if you include furnishings and fixtures.  How long it takes to staff the place might be a factor, as the economy has been doing well and people aren’t hurting for jobs.  I was thinking we might hire a lot of part time workers instead of several full timers.  Bartender and head of security will definitely be full time positions with benefits,” Asami chattered in business mode as they walked around the outside of the site.

“Then, of course, you have to audition and hire your band members as well as practice for… however long you need to practice.  We can open the doors after all that.  My guess is two months, though that’s an uneducated guess on the musical front,” Asami admitted.

“We also have no idea how long we’ll be gone on this mission,” Korra added, her face giving away her thoughts on the matter.

“Let’s get through these next four days.  We work hard and train hard, we go to the Fire Nation, we kick some Red Lotus ass then come home and dance ‘til our feet fall off,” Asami said, pep in her voice, a grin on her face.  Turning towards her, she added, “I hope you’re as excited as we are about this place.  We’ve never had anything like this, and we’re really glad you’re a part of it all.”

Tuesday felt the blush spread across her cheeks.  She placed herself next to Asami and wrapped an arm around her waist before pulling Korra into her other side.  “Words fail me.  I…” she shook her head, “I don’t know how I got so lucky.  It’s wonderful to feel alive again.”  She squeezed her friends closer to her, and they joined their free arms in the embrace so the three of them were in one big hug. 

“Do you know what your next task is, Tuesday?” Asami asked.

“No, tell me.”

“It’s time for you to come up with a name for this place,” she told their friend, a huge grin touching her pink cheeks.

“Me?  Why don’t we do it together?  It’s going to be all of ours,” Tuesday countered.

“Sounds good.  We’ve come to an agreement.  I’m starving.  NOW let’s go home,” Korra demanded, her stomach grumbling, seconding her motion.

* * *

 

Betting she could eat more sushi rolls than Korra had been a bad idea.  Maybe her worst idea ever.  She wasn’t even sure it was her favorite food anymore. 

“I spoiled my favorite food for myself,” she said, a burp and an apology following her statement.  Korra belched even more loudly and laughed jubilantly. 

“Never bet against me when it comes to food,” Korra quipped.  “Asami warned you, you didn’t listen.  I warned you, you still didn’t listen…”

“Yeah, yeah, what do you want?” Tuesday interrogated, a bit anxious about what she might request.

“Teach me how to play the drums.”

Tuesday’s eyes widened in surprise; that wasn’t what she was expecting to hear, but it made her warm on the inside.  She loved when people wanted to learn an instrument.  “I’d love to teach you.  It takes a lot of practice and patience, Korra, but I think you have what it takes,” she assured her. 

_I’m in the mood to have a little fun._

She stood up from her spot at the bar and put the rest of the food away, and she couldn’t help but notice how they watched her.  Tuesday wanted to say they were into her, she really did, but even if she was right, should she try to make a move or continue with the playful flirting?  She grinned slyly to herself.

Tuesday cleaned the counter and propped her back against it in between her friends.  “So you want to learn how to play the drums,” she reiterated to Korra.  When she nodded, Tuesday turned to her wife, fighting to keep her face deadpan and free of blushing.  She nodded towards Korra and asked Asami, “What do you think?” she let a sly grin spread across her face, “does she have any rhythm?”

Then she leaned back and watched the gorgeous women beside her, her grin only partially inhibited by the teeth pulling at her bottom lip.  Asami flushed past the collar of her blouse onto skin Tuesday couldn’t see but she wished she could.  Korra’s blush dusted only her cheeks, but seeing the deep red under her dark skin urged Tuesday to nip and bite her all over to recreate the color.  Korra’s gaze was fixated on her wife and her eyes had taken on a familiar shade…

…the darkened eyes! 

_Okay, oh, whoa, oh.  Okay._

_Korra has looked at me like that._

_So, that means, okay._

_Oh fuck._

“Spirits, yes,” Asami breathed, and Tuesday’s smile disappeared as she sucked in a breath between her teeth.

_Damn, that was loud._

She cleared her throat.  “You two want to go swimming with me?”

_Keep digging your hole, Tuesday._

* * *

 

She swam in what she wore last night.  Now that she knew what those eyes meant, she understood at least the train of thought Korra and Asami’d had as they looked at her last night.  Since they liked what they saw, she decided to give it to them again. 

Asami was in a blood red bikini, and Spirits, she knows she got caught staring a few times but she didn’t even care.  Korra’s bikini was more tomboyish resembling a sports bra and boy shorts, but it fit the Avatar’s body perfectly.  The color of it matched Korra’s eyes so closely it made them dance against the water.

Tuesday knew she was pushing it.  What could possibly come from all of this?  They seemed to have mutual feelings, considering they shared the same looks.  Was it because they thought she wouldn’t be into it?

Holy Spirits, if they only knew. 

But there was that small voice in the back of her mind, the one that reminded her that if it starts, it may, and most likely would, come to an end.  The thought of that broke her heart.  Something physical wasn’t worth losing their friendship.  She wanted to talk to them, not soon, but if these feelings stayed…

She had pulled out a bottle of peach wine and they drank as they swam and talked about their day.  “I think we should have food and drinks and friends in a couple of nights,” Asami suggested.  “We have to go away and work and we have another fight ahead of us, so we should have a night where we can let loose beforehand.”  She turned to look at Tuesday.  “You up for it?”

Tuesday grinned at her consideration.  _Why the hell not?_   “Yeah.  Let’s do it.  It’ll be fun, and I’m going to be staying here and fighting alongside these people, so spending time with them and getting to know them would probably be a good thing.”

Korra had been enjoying her share of the peach wine.  She giggled as she said, “Hey, how about Kya flirting with you today, Tuesday? “

“It was innocent and flattering.  Kya is a very attractive woman.  So is Lin.  Good for them,” Tuesday grinned from the deep end of the pool.

“Oh, hey, airbending lesson.  Let’s go,” Korra said, handing her glass to Asami.  She ducked underwater and popped up next to Tuesday within mere seconds.  She’d never seen a faster swimmer in her life.  She noticed Korra’s hair was still dry.  _Ah… I get it._

“Yeah, you know what we’re doing.  Okay, it’s a really simple movement, but you do have to focus a little harder to maintain because water’s push against air underwater will make you feel physical pressure, so you really have to keep a hold on it.  Here’s what you do.”  Korra made a swift spiraling movement with her body as she ducked underwater, and Tuesday slipped under the surface to very blurrily see an obvious bubble around Korra’s head.  She smiled and said something Tuesday couldn’t make out, and she rose above the surface to rub her now sore eyes.  Korra surfaced, not a drop of water on her head.  “Why didn’t you do it?”

“Honestly, I just forgot.  I was so eager to see what it looked like underwater I didn’t even try.”  She heard Asami chuckle behind them.  “I’ll try now.”

She mimicked the movement she studied a few moments prior and ducked underneath the surface.  Tuesday opened her eyes and gasped.  She could breathe!  She watched as Korra slipped under water, a proud grin on her face and she sunk down to stand next to Tuesday at the bottom.  She walked over, and much to her surprise, joined their bubbles.

“Isn’t this neat?” Korra asked.

Tuesday was entranced.  Not only was her mind focusing on pushing against the pressure Korra warned her about, but it was beautiful under the water like this, not to mention a set of gorgeous light brown lips were so very close to hers.  “This is amazing,” she breathed. 

Korra smiled for a moment before Tuesday watched her gaze drift down to her lips.  Out of pure instinct she moistened them gently with her tongue.  She closed her eyes and reprimanded herself.  She didn’t like that Asami wasn’t here to watch this exchange between them.  “We should go back up.  I’d like to go out on the balcony before bed,” she suggested.

The water tribe beauty’s face lit up.  “Ooo, me too!” she said.  “I’m pulling my bubble now.  The pressure will change.”  With that, she left and surfaced.

* * *

 

 

On the way to the balcony, Asami grabbed and held both of their hands the whole way there.  When Korra led them into their bedroom, hands still attached, it was innocent and sexy at the same time.  At the young couple’s request, they smoked from their jar and broke in their new piece. 

When it was time for bed, they asked her for a song.  She fetched her guitar and found them under the covers when she returned, Asami taking the turn of big spoon.  Korra patted the spot on the bed in front of her, so that’s where Tuesday settled without a word, nestling into the divot in the Avatar’s body, settling the guitar comfortably in her lap. 

Tonight she felt properly exhausted but happy, so she wanted to sing a song that reflected her mood, which she always tried to do.  She sorted through the eccentric library of music in her mind and she felt her face light up when she thought of a song she hadn’t played in awhile.

Her fingers strummed and picked the strings of her guitar, her mind on the sway of the song, wanting, as always, for it to be perfect for her audience… especially this audience.

_Surprise, surprise_   
_Couldn’t find it in your eyes_   
_But I’m sure it’s written all over my face_   
_Surprise, surprise_   
_Never something I could hide_   
_When I see we made it through another day_   
_And I said_   
_Hoo-ooh-ooh-ooh_   
_Hoo-ooh-ooh-ooh_   
_Hoo-ooh-ooh-ooh_   
_To you_   
_Now the night_   
_Will throw its cover down_   
_On me again_   
_Ooh, and if I’m right_   
_It’s the only way_   
_To bring me back…_

After Tuesday finished the song, she fell silent.  Her thoughts strayed to this fantasy she felt like she was living in, but after awhile, as usual, her mind went right back to the women beside her.   Looking at them, cuddled up together, eyes closed, little smiles on their faces- what right did she have moving in on that?  Granted she was ninety-nine percent positive they were attracted to her, but that didn’t necessarily mean they would act on anything they felt.  Maybe she should separate herself a little bit.  Deep down she knew that’s what she would have to do all along. 

She rose to go to her room, but Korra’s hand on her wrist stopped her.  Looking down at the bed she saw the two most stunning pairs of eyes she’d ever seen looking up at her. 

“Are you leaving?” Korra asked softly.  Everything in her body wanted to appease the voice, do anything it wanted. 

“Just heading to bed, but I’ll see you two beauties in the morning,” she answered, holding on to what little will she had.

“Stay here.”  It was more of a question than a demand in spite of the fact that Korra had yet to let go of her wrist.  Her gaze shifted back and forth between electric green and cyan, and any control she had cracked as if it were thin ice. 

“I’ll be right back,” she said, her voice quiet, her mind blaring.  She propped up her guitar at the foot of the bed and shed her outer layers, leaving on something very similar to what she had worn last night.  Korra lifted the bedcovers up for her, and she crawled in and nestled her backside against her.  She felt her body react with more gusto than ever to the arms reaching around her and hands touching her tonight, but she steeled her body against her desires considering her mind was currently at war over the situation. 

Luckily her thoughts didn’t hinder her ability to fall asleep, and with an exhausted body and the warmth that surrounded her she was out within minutes.

And just like the previous three nights, she dreamt of ocean blue and brilliant green.


	29. Fire and Ice

Asami enjoyed mornings when she woke first.  She loved watching the early morning light drift into the room turning everything a pale blue that was just bright enough to see.  This morning, she was looking at hands.

At some point in their slumber Asami became the little spoon, and she found it adorable how they seemed to move together in their sleep.  Korra’s hand rested on its side on the mattress beside her, while Tuesday’s hand rested palm down on her waist.  Her wife’s hands she knew so well; before they had ever touched her body intimately they had shaken hers as an acquaintance, hugged her as a friend, and embraced her as they were becoming something more.  She had held these hands through so much, and it brought her indescribable joy every day when she thought about how they were hers to hold forever. 

Tuesday’s hands were different from Korra’s but just as beautiful.  Aside from the obvious contrast in skin tone, her wife’s palms were rectangular, with elegantly long fingers that made her quiver every time she thought about the things they could do to her.  Korra’s hands were much like her personality- strong, hard-working, a little rough around the edges, but also soft, gentle, and warm.

Asami placed her hand on top of the hand that rested on her waist.  Tuesday’s palms were square, like hers.  Like Korra, her fingers were long, and she freely let her mind get carried away.  Her hips shifted and an exhale hurried from her lips as she thought about how masterfully those fingers played that guitar… oh, the dexterity. 

Feeling brave, she carefully placed her fingertips against the musician’s.  Rough, but as she traced the inside of her finger the skin was as soft as velvet.  All of a sudden Tuesday’s hand squeezed her side as her legs straightened in a stretch, and Asami had to stifle a moan.  Skillful fingers, strong hands… if something were to happen, having both Korra and Tuesday…

She was in trouble. 

Instead of moving her hand from Tuesday’s, she laid hers upon it and turned so she was facing her wife.  She covered her beautiful face with light kisses, and the hand beneath hers tensed, but she didn’t let go, choosing to brush her thumb across it to make sure she knew she wanted the hand to stay where it was.

Korra stretched and nestled herself on her back between the two women.  Her sleepy cyan eyes opened and she grinned.  Asami could so easily get lost in those eyes.  She leaned down and gave her wife a soft, sweet kiss.  “Good morning, my wife,” she said tenderly.  She squeezed Tuesday’s hand as she looked up and realized Tuesday was also awake.  “Good morning, sweetie.  How did you sleep?”

“Remarkably well, thank you.”  Those eyes…

“Aren’t you glad you stayed now?” Korra inquired.

A small but genuine smile danced across her pink lips.  “Yes.”

“We’ve all gotten great sleep the last several nights, and that makes you our good luck charm,” Korra stated, adding her hand to the two resting on Asami’s side. 

“Well, that makes this much harder to say,” she began.  “I think tonight… I should stay in my room.  You two are the absolute best slumber party friends a girl could ask for…” Naga’s head lifted up off her paws and rested on the foot of the bed, “Sorry, Naga, you three,” the polar bear dog huffed and they laughed in unison as her head disappeared.  Once Tuesday caught her breath, she continued.  “Anyhow, you two are newlyweds, and to say I enjoy your company and affection would be an understatement, but I feel bad staying every night, even though I know I’m invited each time.”

Asami felt her eyebrows knit together and watched as her wife’s did the same.  They did like her there with them at night, even if they didn’t entirely know why, but her offer was so considerate of their relationship it was hard to deny her what she asked.  I mean, it’s not like a night alone with her wife was anything negative in the slightest, but… she’d miss her.  She was their bed buddy.  So many confusing feelings…

“So stay with us most nights,” Asami said, hoping her voice didn’t betray her.  She glanced at her wife to make sure she wasn’t making an offer only she wanted and smiled when Korra gave her an inconspicuous nod.

Slate blue eyes looked into her so deeply it made her breathing halt, and it was only revived with vigor when Tuesday pulled her pouty, pink bottom lip into her mouth.  She bit at her lip, those stormy eyes never leaving hers, until she nodded and spoke.  “Okay, I tell you what.  We sort of had a rotation going.  The first night, you were in the middle, the second night, I was.  Last night was Korra’s turn and tonight it’s the two of you.  Tomorrow night is your night in the middle again.  I will agree to this so long as the two of you promise you’ll always tell me if you need a night to yourselves.”

Korra looked over at her and raised her eyebrows.  Asami took it as the ‘Let’s agree to this now but talk about it later and then get back to her for any negotiations’ look.  She briskly nodded and set her gaze on Tuesday.  “Okay, deal, but you have to keep cooking and hanging out with us, too.  There will be no negotiations on that.”

Tuesday’s huge grin made her heart flutter.  What a long way she had come from the ghost of a woman they first met, and in such a short time.  Their friend’s gaze drifted back and forth between them, and Asami noticed her look at her hand on her waist, and back to Korra, and then to her, then her hand again.  Her smile slowly morphed into a line of worry as her eyebrows moved towards each other. 

“Tuesday, what’s wrong?” Korra asked before she could.

“I suppose I’m… I would think you two might be… I guess… jealous?  I mean, we’re awfully, um, close?  Neither of you seem to care… uh… those weren’t the right words…” Tuesday adorably mumbled.  “What I mean is…”

“We are completely open to each other about everything.  We agree in how we feel about our friendship with you,” Asami explained, understanding what she meant, however inarticulate.  The expression on their girl’s face softened but didn’t completely disappear.  She desperately wished she could read her mind.  Did she think about them the same way they thought about her?  What did she think of all this intensity?  Did she even feel it the way they did?  There was no way she could ask these questions outright, and Korra was even shyer than she was at this sort of stuff.

Tentatively she asked Tuesday, her voice deeper than she intended, “Is there anything you would like to talk about?  Or ask?”

Those stormy blue eyes grew wide for a split second before the flush fell across her face.  Asami couldn’t help but notice she shook her head a little too quickly.  She looked at them sheepishly as she said, “Well, I would like to know what you two would like for dinner tonight.  I need to go to the market today.”

“We can go together, if you’d like,” Korra offered.  “We’re training here today, and I asked Ikki if she’d like to come, too, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” Tuesday said.  “Ikki is really sweet.  Her bubbly personality just warms my heart.”

“She can get carried away, but she’s… reined it in quite a bit since she was a kid.  It’s hard for her… she has an older sister who, at seventeen, is about to have primary leadership over an entire culture and has an unbelievably powerful spiritual sense and a younger brother, a firstborn son who just demands attention and is renowned as one of the most skilled airbenders in the world … I think it’s been hard for her to feel like she’s made any kind of mark,” Korra explained to Tuesday.  Her wife turned to look at her, a proud grin on her face.  “Tenzin said Jinora and Meelo don’t need to know about this, but Ikki is the best teacher they have.  I’m so happy something calls to her so soundly.  Also, remember how I told you Ikki wants to stay to teach instead of going south with everyone else?  Tenzin brought it up again, so I just wanted to remind you that chances are she might be here often.”

“I’m excited.  I think it’ll be fun.  Tuesday, be prepared.  She asks a lot of questions, and it isn’t annoying, but it’s tedious,” Asami laughed as she informed their friend. 

“We can’t learn anything if we don’t ask questions,” Tuesday answered simply, a small smile on her face.  Asami’s heart swelled at her words.  She made it so easy to adore her.

She sighed and cuddled closer to her wife, wishing she could stay in bed with these gorgeous women all morning, but duty was calling.  “Okay, ladies, I know you two get to stay home today, but I don’t.  We have a lot to get ready before we can leave for the Fire Nation.”

“Make sure the press doesn’t get word that you’re leaving or where you’re going,” Tuesday chimed in.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Well, if it’s in the papers that you’re going to the Fire Nation for Future Industries, the bad guys will obviously assume the Avatar is coming with you, and they may hide.  If they don’t know either of you are coming, they’ll continue on with whatever they were doing as such.”

“Tuesday, that’s... a great idea.  We’re so used to putting news about the company out for the public to know that I didn’t even think about how it could end up being self-sabotage.  Thank you,” she squeezed her friend’s hand.  “I’ll make sure PR has a hold on that.  We can just as easily announce the news after this whole mess is cleaned up.”

“And even though we’re home today doesn’t mean I’m taking it easy on you,” Korra said, her eyes shining as she looked at Tuesday.  “I hope you’re ready.” 

“Bring it on,” Tuesday challenged.  “I’m excited.  But I think we should get up and make sure Asami’s morning is wonderful before she has to go in.  What do you say?”  Asami grinned bashfully from ear to ear.  Two beautiful women wanting to make her happy… she could get used to this. 

Asami checked her watch and sighed.  “I have to get my shower in before Korra climbs on top of me and tries to keep me here.”

Korra shifted like she was going to do exactly that, but before Asami could hop up, Tuesday had her wife pinned on one side.  “Go!” she squealed, giggling as Korra used her free arm to try and tickle her captor.  As soon as Asami was free of the bed, Tuesday freed her wife.

“Hey, whose side are you on?” Korra questioned playfully.

_Oh, Korra, you and sides._

“I’m for both of you, but it’s more fun to side with her on little things because your reaction is so darling,” Tuesday chuckled.

Asami had to get a handle on herself.  Listening to the two of them, all she wanted to do was call Dorian and have him and Libby handle her business for the day then crawl back into bed with her girls.

_Her girls?  Hmm._

The thought, however, was dangerous, and she knew it.  How they were able to keep their hands off the woman now was a mystery.  They both wanted her and it seemed she might want them too, but it was almost as if they’d collectively built a wall around the subject, perhaps considering it too complex to face. 

Only time would tell.

* * *

 

“Hey, let’s go.  Now that she’s in the shower, let’s surprise her with breakfast!” Tuesday suggested, pulling on Korra’s hand in the doorway of their bedroom. 

Korra wanted to make breakfast with Tuesday, really she did, but her eyes were staring longingly at the bathroom door.  She felt her friend squeeze her hand, so she turned her gaze to meet her stormy eyes.  Tuesday let go of her hand as she said, “You know, I can manage breakfast for us just fine.  I... um…” she watched as her eyes went searching for anything but Korra’s face, a crimson blush darkening her cheeks.  She was surprised when those blue-grey eyes returned to hers, and Korra felt a flash of heat flush over her skin when she identified the lust behind them as she finally completed her statement.  “I think there’s something else you could do to help make your wife’s morning a great one.” 

Korra’s blood burned with want, and not just for her wife.  Tuesday might be shy, but there was something primal in her eyes and Spirits, did she want to find out what it was.

But not right now.  Right now her very naked wife was on the other side of the wall, and Korra wanted to send her off to work with a smile on her face. 

“Go,” Tuesday told her, a sly grin on her face.  “Come to the kitchen later…” she pulled Korra in for a brief hug, “…after you two have worked up an appetite.”  Pulling away, Tuesday winked, and she felt a rush of affection towards her friend, among other things. 

Tuesday turned and headed down the hall, and Korra closed the bedroom door.  She could hear Asami humming, and she recognized the melody as the song that Tuesday had played for them last night.  She walked to the bathroom door and opened it, a cloud of steam meeting her, and as it rushed out of the door, she could finally see into the shower.

Never, never in a million years would she get over the fact that this woman loved her and wanted to be hers.  Nothing would ever be more beautiful than the body stretching under the stream of scalding water or the heart of the woman it belonged to. 

Before Asami could catch her staring, she started to shed her clothing.  “Hey, you,” she said, her thoughts apparent in her voice.

Her wife’s smile lit up the steamy little room.  “Hey there, sexy.”

_Oh, Spirits._

Her mouth ran dry despite the humidity in the room, and she couldn’t get the rest of her clothes off quickly enough.  Her breathing quickened as she watched her wife watch her undress, her eyes not leaving Korra’s body as more of it was revealed.  As she started to walk towards the glass wall that separated them, Asami met her in the middle, throwing the shower door open for her before stepping back under the stream of water.  Not once did those vibrant green eyes leave her; they were either looking at her body or caught up in her gaze. 

The closer she got, the farther Asami backed into the tile wall.  Her eyes said it all. 

_Take me against this wall._

Korra was more than happy to oblige.

While her eyes were drinking in every exquisite inch of her wife her hand found the button on the wall she needed to press to change the water from a stream into rain.  She turned the temperature of the water down just a notch before closing the distance between them.

Asami’s lips were parted, her face flushed, her breathing shallow.   Korra ached to kiss her, but she wanted to make her wait.  For them, kissing was their number one turn-on.  If there was no foreplay but kissing, that suited them just fine, though they of course enjoyed everything else.  The first couple years of their relationship had survived off kisses and quickies, which is why Korra was making her wait.  They had time for build-up, at least for right now, and she was going to take advantage of it any time she could. 

The slight drop in temperature and flow of water had caused Asami’s skin to turn into goose flesh, but all that changed when Korra pressed her body against it.  She dodged her wife’s lips as she drew in for a kiss, moving her mouth to her clavicle instead and nipping it along the way to her shoulder.  As she sank her teeth into the soft spot between her neck and shoulder, she finally elicited a whimper from her wife. 

The sound set her insides aflame, and the water on her skin started to evaporate upon contact.  She reluctantly pulled her hungry lips off her wife’s body long enough to cool herself before she set them both on fire. 

That was when she got a really good idea.

She opened her mouth to catch a bit of water, struggling to hold it in when she saw Asami’s perplexed look.  What she couldn’t see was that Korra had frozen the water in her mouth.  She watched her wife’s lustful eyes flit shut as she made her way towards her breast and heard her gasp of surprise as the ice enveloped her already pert nipple.

“Ohhh, Korra…”

The sound of her name escaping Asami’s lips like that always made her inner walls clench with desire, and she quivered as she felt warmth pool between her legs.  Korra pulled out one of the hands that had been tangled in her hair and kissed it before cupping it over her sex.  The groan that escaped her wife was followed by Korra’s whisper. 

“I want you to feel what you do to me.”

A sharp breath escaped her lips as Asami’s fingertips brushed her slick, throbbing bud.  They continued farther back towards the source of the arousal, and Korra bit the inside of her cheek to keep her hips from bucking into her wife’s hand.  She pulled away and grasped Asami’s wrist gently before bringing up her hand and taking her fingertips into her mouth.  The move made Asami’s knees buckle, so Korra flipped her to face the wall and locked her arms around her waist.

“Put your hands on the wall, Baby.”

Her wife extended her arms and placed her palms against the tile.  Korra pressed her body as tightly against her lover as she possibly could, desperate to feel her close, wanting to be her source of warmth.  She allowed her hands to roam over her taut stomach, shapely hips and elegant sides before stopping at her perfect breasts, cupping one in each hand.  Her palms pushed into the supple peaks, kneading sensually.  She rested her chin on her wife’s shoulder, and she watched mesmerized as jet black locks tumbled back onto her shoulder as Asami threw her head back in desire.

Korra left one hand to tease and caress her lover’s top half while she slid the other one across her lower belly, back and forth between her hips, getting increasingly lower each time before finally coming to a stop at the mound of heat radiating from between Asami’s legs.  All this time her wife’s soft, sexy gasps and moans had filled her senses, and her head swam with erotic intoxication that only intensified the moment she eased her fingers into the hot, drenched folds she’d been teasing herself by avoiding.

Korra moaned as Asami’s hips pushed forward into her hand, and her wife began to tremble as she began swirling her fingertip against her hardened bud.  She bended a small ball of water on her other hand, froze it and used it against her wife’s nipples, wanting to play with contrast of cold on her upper half and the heat in her lower half.

It was obviously working.  Asami growled, and Korra increased the speed and pressure against her love’s clit.  Her knees started to shake, so she halted her icy assault and wrapped her arm around her to help hold her up but never relenting from the pace between her legs.

The little gasping moans began to leave Asami’s lips and sounded in Korra’s ears, and she grinned with pride.  _Time to change things up a bit._  She rapidly spun her wife and pressed her back up against the tile, bending the water from underneath their feet to make sure they wouldn’t slip.  She grabbed her leg and wrapped it around her waist, and her body shook as a guttural moan bubbled up from her lover’s chest and rushed out of her lips when Korra’s fingers entered her.  She held Asami close, supporting her weight as she continued to expertly curl her fingers against the soft pad of nerves on her front wall, all the while keeping pressure against her clit with her palm. 

“Korra, please kiss me,” the love of her life begged, her voice thick, her breath quickened.

Those words spoken by most beautiful woman in the world trembling in her arms from the pleasure she was receiving sent her into a lustful frenzy.  No longer wanting to make her wife wait for anything, she pressed their lips together, immediately finding her wife’s tongue pushing into her mouth.  At the very moment Korra pressed their tongues against each other in a dance, she felt Asami’s walls clamp down around her fingers, and she increased her thrusts and the pressure against the sensitive peak on her palm.  Her raven-haired beauty’s orgasm pulsed against her hand as her other arm held her up, the sounds of her release resonating all the way into her core.  Nothing in the world sounded better.

Her wife finally fell limp into her arms.  She turned the two of them together until her back was against the wall, and she slid them down to the floor gently until she sat with her wife resting gently in her lap.  She covered her face in kisses before tilting her chin up into a long, soft, passionate kiss.  It made her chest swell until it felt like it was going to burst.

“You are incredible, do you know that?” Asami whispered against her lips. 

“This?  This is all because of how you make me feel,” she mumbled, nuzzling the porcelain cheek next to her.

“If Tuesday’s anywhere on the top floor, she just got an earful,” Asami said, hoarsely chuckling.

Korra grinned.  It would certainly be interesting to see her face if that were the case.  “She’s downstairs and we’re to meet her when we’re ready,” she grinned, deciding to disclose some information.  “She was the one who told me to come in here.”

“Oh really.”

“Yes, but I was looking at the bathroom door, so I think she just saw I wanted to come in here and told me to do it.  Even still, she’s awesome for seeing it,” Korra said.

Asami sat up and adjusted their position until she straddled one of Korra’s thighs.  “I’m glad you joined me, and I’d like to thank you by returning the favor.”

Korra groaned as her wife’s words made her throb against the tile floor.  Nimble fingers quickly found what they were looking for, and the spike of pleasure Asami’s touch sent through her caused her body to quake. 

Her eyes closed as her lover kissed her, and all she knew of the world at that moment was what she felt at the hands and heart of her wife.  She was barely aware of her gasps and moans and her fingernails dragging lines down the back of the woman facing her.  Her hips shifted up in desperation, hoping the movement would draw Asami’s fingers lower, and it did.  She cried out against her wife’s lips as those elegantly long fingers curled deeply inside of her and her lover’s palm continued the pressure against her swollen bud. 

“Oh, Baby, you’re so tight, so wet… you feel so good against my fingers,” Asami whimpered into her ear, and the quivering in her voice nearly sent her spiraling.  Korra’s fingers dug into her wife’s hair and she tugged gently on the long locks, reveling in the sound that escaped her lips as a result.  The pressure in her belly was increasing at a rapid rate, and her chest rose and fell with her quickened breath with each thrust her lover gave her.  Asami’s lips crashed into hers in a frenzied kiss as Korra’s hand trailed down from her hair to her breasts, and the feeling of her aroused nipples against her fingertips caused her to clench down on the skillful fingers moving inside of her.

It was Asami’s tongue and teeth on her bottom lip that jolted the orgasm out of her.  One moment she was still, the next she was writhing under her wife, completely succumbing to her touch.  Somewhere in the midst of it all she felt warmth spread over the thigh her wife straddled, and another bolt of ecstasy raced through her as she realized her lover was coming with her. 

Several minutes passed before the aftershocks of their orgasms slowed and Korra was finally able to move from their collapsed position on the floor.  “I hope this keeps a smile on your face throughout your day,” she smiled at her wife as she spoke. 

“Oh, Spirits, it will.  Every time I think about it I’ll grin and blush like a fool and Dorian will call me out on it,” she chuckled.

“I really like Dorian.  Why don’t we ever invite him over?” Korra asked.

“You know, I’ve thought about it, but my father embedded it in me that you don’t mix work with personal life,” she explained.  “But maybe after we get the venue up and running we can meet him out.”

“I’m so pumped about that I can’t even contain myself.  The three of us are going to check on the progress before we leave, right?” Korra asked.

“Most definitely,” Asami answered.  “Come on, my love.  Let’s get out of this water.  I’m all wrinkly and I have to get ready.  I’m so glad you joined me,” she said softly, her captivating green eyes love-drunk .  “I know you are, too.”

“Am I ever,” Korra assured her, kissing her softly.


	30. Lessons

Tuesday was having the hardest time making breakfast, and it was all because she knew exactly what was happening upstairs.  And Spirits, did she wish she was a part of it.

_No, you don’t._

_Yes, you do._

_You’re literally arguing with yourself in your head.  Fantastic._

She partially satisfied her frustrations by squeezing fresh juice and grinding coffee beans by hand. 

Her mind was reeling at the thought of exactly what was going on above her and her feelings towards the two participants.  In a way, she was glad she had told them she was going to sleep in her room tonight, because she wasn’t sure she could keep her hands to herself much longer without some sort of break from the two beauties.

What if it got to be too much?  Would she eventually feel the need to move out just to be able to handle it?  What sort of lovers were they?  Was one of them more dominant than the other?  If so, would she be surprised to find out which was which?  She gasped as she wondered if Korra used bending for pleasure. 

_Hmm.  I’m going to examine airbending moves with an additional perspective now._

She finished preparing everything except the eggs for two reasons.  One, you can’t poach with a busy mind, and two, she wasn’t sure when they would be coming down.  She set the table and made herself a cup of coffee to enjoy while she waited.

That didn’t last long.  She was too antsy.  She was straining her ears, caught somewhere in between wanting to hear them and not wanting to hear them.  Finally she stood and carried her coffee around as she went from room to room.  She halted when she saw the piano in the corner of one of the sitting rooms.

_How did I not notice this before?_

She hadn’t touched a piano since the day her mother and Mara had died.  Today, she decided, that was going to change.  Before, it hurt her just to think about playing, but she realized now that if Mara and her mother could say anything to her, they’d fuss at her for refusing to play any instrument for the length of time she had, especially their beloved piano.

Tuesday sat on the bench and hit the middle C to check its sound and smiled as the note rang out perfectly.  She sat her coffee down after a sip and set her feet on the pedals.  She stretched her fingers and started to play Mara’s favorite, the _Claire de Lune_.

Tears fell freely as she remembered her little girl’s tiny fingers playing these notes.  Just like the rest of them, Mara was talented, and she loved anything classical.  ‘Classical music on the piano is so pretty’, she had said. 

Spirits, how she missed her.  Nothing could repair the jagged holes in her heart and soul that were created by the death of her daughter.  She shut her eyes, willing the tears to stop.  She didn’t want puffy, red eyes when the girls came downstairs. 

But she didn’t stop playing.  Her fingers danced across the keys as if they’d never left for years, and her eyes remained closed, trying to think about the pride she felt during Mara’s first piano recital when she was four years old instead of the pain she constantly struggled with over the loss of her.  Despite the tears, she felt herself smile just a little.  Even though her life had been so short, her daughter had touched so many and learned so much.

One thing she was sure of was that she had given her daughter a life as full of love and fun as she could in the time that she had.

Her fingers slowed with the end of the song, and she felt a strange sense of peace wash over her as she played the last key.  She knew that if Mara could see her, she would be happy, because she had finally found a sliver of peace after all these years.

Tuesday jumped as she felt two sets of arms surround her.  Her eyes opened in a flash, surprised that they had gotten so close to her and she didn’t realize. 

_Maybe I did.  Maybe their presence is what caused that feeling of peace to wash over me._

She sighed, sinking into the arms of the women that held her.  Why did she ever think she could leave them?  There was no way she could leave for good.  She felt happiness for the first time in years.  This was her new home, and she was in deep.  


* * *

 

As soon as Asami got in the car to go to work, her hand was on the radio.

“Dorian, do me a favor and notify PR to make sure we don’t hit the press with the news of the expansion.  I don’t want a word of it out yet,” she informed him.  “Make sure there’s a memo in every mailbox to keep this hushed for now.”

“You got it.  Anything else I can do for you?” Dorian asked.

“Be ready for a day full of meetings and taking lunch in,” she said.  “Hope you’re ready to write.”

“Yes ma’am, always.  I’m going to notify PR now.”

“Thank you Dorian.”

As she hung up the radio, she thought about how smart that idea had been.  Tuesday seemed to fit into their world as well as their lives seamlessly, granted it did cause quite a few interesting emotions.   So long as she and Korra were on the same page with everything that was what mattered, right?

This whole situation required daily communication.  She imagined they would speak more about it tonight, sans Tuesday.  Asami had to admit she was curious to see just how much they would miss their bedfellow. 

Having Tuesday around seemed to be helping to lighten the weight of what was coming sometime this weekend as well.  They didn’t dwell on it, she noticed.  They discussed ideas or strategies for their mission to the Fire Nation as they came up but they didn’t linger on the task at hand and they didn’t despair over it.

For once, Korra might come out of something physically unscathed. 

* * *

 

Ikki arrived at the manor about a half hour after breakfast, and she, Tuesday, and Korra went to the market before starting their work for the day.  Korra didn’t know she could have that much fun around groceries.  Tenzin would kill her if he heard some of the jokes she made in front of Ikki about the produce.

A little while later she watched as Ikki observed Tuesday’s forms and corrected any nuances she saw.  The fourteen year old had an amazing eye.  She went out into the yard and made the corrections on her own forms and discovered it gave her a better result as well.

“Oh, hey, way to go Korra!” the teenager praised her with a huge grin.

“I didn’t even realize dipping my arm just that little bit lower could create so much more force,” she said, amazed.  “Ikki, if Tuesday’s okay with it, I’d really like it if you joined us every day we train here.  I think you could teach Tuesday better than I can, and I’ll be brushing up as well from the look of things.  If you want, I can talk to your Dad and Jinora for you.”

Korra and Ikki turned to face Tuesday.  For about the tenth time today she had to peel her eyes away from that glistening, tattooed body so she didn’t raise any suspicions around their new teacher.  She couldn’t prevent the huge grin that spread across her cheeks when Tuesday said she’d love to have Ikki join them.

Ikki was a positive teacher, but she was still stern, and she worked them ragged well into lunchtime, as Korra begrudgingly noticed.  She would have bolted for the kitchen if she hadn’t noticed Tuesday crashing on the ground instead of heading inside. 

She walked up to the new airbender.  “Hey, you okay?”

“Oh yeah, just haven’t been this physical for this long in quite some time.  I mean, I walked and did yoga but this is very different.  But I’m having a blast,” Tuesday said, turning her stormy blue eyes to Korra.  “After lunch and meditation I think we should spar, though.  I need to know how to defend myself against benders, and no one can be a better offense than you, Avatar, master of the elements.” 

She blushed as Tuesday winked at her.  It took a second for her to realize she was wearing that lop-sided grin of hers under the gaze of her friend, and unable to shake it, she just nodded. 

“Come on, help me up.  I know you’re starving,” Tuesday said, reaching a hand towards Korra.  It never failed that when she touched the woman she felt something, even with something as simple as holding her hand to help her up. 

After lunch they decided to meditate or at the very least attempt to meditate indoors considering it had gotten unseasonably hot outside.  Within about twenty minutes they had tossed that idea out the window with the promise that they would spend some peaceful time outdoors before bed.  Korra and Tuesday smiled at each other over Ikki’s head, knowing damn well it just meant they were going to get stoned on the balcony after supper.

“Well, since we’re not meditating, I suppose I should head home,” Ikki said, and although it wasn’t showing on her face, the disappointment could be heard in her voice.

“Nah, hang out for a little while,” Tuesday chimed in.  “Would you like to see the instrument on which Korra is going to be receiving lessons?”

Ikki didn’t really squeal too much anymore, but she did just then.  “Ooh!  What is it?”

Tuesday led the way and Korra brought up the rear as they walked down the hall to the newly dubbed ‘music room’.  She couldn’t help but notice the warmth on the musician’s face as she stood in the middle of the room amongst her beloved instruments.  Walking over to her drum kit, she handed Ikki the sticks and let her tap on the percussion instruments Korra would be learning in time.  The girl beamed at Korra and said, “Oh you’re going to be awesome on these, Korra!  I can’t wait to see!”  The Avatar’s heart melted at her young friend’s assurance.

Tuesday walked over to the case that Korra remembered as the one that held her bass and removed it.  Korra watched excitedly because she hadn’t heard the bass be played yet.  Tuesday plucked the thick strings and adjusted the tuning keys at the top and smiled when she was satisfied with the sound.  She turned on the equipment and plugged in, immediately starting to play.

Over the deep, rolling notes coming from the instrument she said to Ikki, “This is how I relax,” giving the girl a big smile. 

“I love the way it sounds.  I can feel it in my bones,” Ikki said.  At these words, Tuesday paused, her stormy eyes looking deeply into the girl.  Korra hadn’t thought of it before, but Tuesday’s eyes and Ikki’s eyes were nearly the same color.  She felt a pull in her chest as she realized that her friend might feel a connection to Ikki because of this.

She watched as Tuesday walked over to her brother’s bass case and pulled out the instrument from within it.  Korra grabbed Waldorf as it was handed to her, and Tuesday checked to make sure Statler was tuned before gently easing the strap onto her young teacher’s shoulder and adjusting it for her height.  Ikki’s hands carefully grabbed the instrument and inspected it with a look of sheer awe on her face.  “It’s heavier than I expected,” she said, “but it’s so neat.”

Tuesday took Waldorf back from Korra.  “These are bass guitars, intended to provide the bass line of a song, obviously.  They require strong fingers because the strings are so thick.  They take a lot of work, and I feel that you truly have to feel the music to be able to play any instrument well, but especially the bass.  If you ever watch a band play, it’s easy to notice that the bassist is moving a little differently than everyone else on stage, but I’m getting too far ahead here,” Tuesday said, shaking her head.  “Anyhow, that guitar belonged to my brother, and if you would like to learn how to play it, I’ll teach you,” she offered to Ikki.  “You’re about the age I was when he taught me.  I should pass the knowledge on to someone, too.”

The look of joy on Ikki’s face brought the biggest smile to Korra’s lips.  “Really?  Spirits that would be so cool and really exciting to be able to do something my brothers and sister can’t do!” she expressed, her excitement bubbling over.

“It’s the least I could do to repay you for the impeccable education I am receiving, not that Korra was doing a bad job whatsoever…”

“I was very… distracted when I was learning how to airbend.  It doesn’t surprise me that some things got past me, so this is just as beneficial to me as it is to you,” Korra interrupted.

“So when we get back from our trip we’ll start lessons, okay?  In the meantime, let me show you a few things to practice at home, and then we’ll watch Korra play around on the drums for a little bit before she and I continue training.  Sound good?” Tuesday asked Ikki.

“Yes!  Thank you!” the girl beamed.  “I get to take this home?”

“You have to have something on which to practice,” Tuesday smiled warmly as she answered.

“Thank you, Tuesday.”

“You’re very welcome, Ikki.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this is the 30th chapter.


	31. Chapter 31

Her whole body hurt, but she couldn’t let Korra see that.  She had to be ready.  Korra had not taken it easy on her, but it was at her own request.

“Come on, Korra, if they think I’m a weak link I’ll be a liability,” she said, forcing a blast of air from her foot as she spun mid-air in a kick.  The Avatar rolled out of the way but did not counter when it was obvious she could have.  There was a worried look on her face that told Tuesday she may be too late in keeping the pain off her face.  She swept at Korra but she just bounced back onto her hands and flipped her body almost in a break-dancing move, winding up on her feet after pushing herself up off her hands.  Again, no counter.

“I refuse to be in a position where I need any protection!” Tuesday rarely got frustrated, but she would fight to protect these women and their city if she had to, and if she couldn’t do that, she would at least hold her own to prevent anyone from coming to her aid.  “Can’t you see your apprehension means I’m learning less?”  She stopped on her feet, panting, but still in a ready stance. 

“You’re exhausted, and I noticed you limping,” Korra said, looking down, fidgeting with her arm sleeves.  “I think you should let me heal you and we can continue tomorrow.”

“Three more minutes, please.  And don’t hold back,” she told the hesitant Water Tribe woman, the plea evident in her voice.

She watched as Korra sighed and readied herself.  Tuesday had been paying close attention to the Avatar’s stances and moves, trying to figure out which element was coming next.  She couldn’t get better training than this. 

Her first move came quickly, with sharp movements, and she knew immediately fire was what she needed to deflect.  Still iffy about blowing away the fire with her friend so near, she instead used a non-bending defense instead, twisting her body around the flame just like diverting a tackle with a roll and getting close enough to Korra to land a swift kick into her hip, knocking her off balance.  She planted herself quickly and rounded on Tuesday with a stream of water that she was just barely able to block with a sheet of air, but she was glad because that meant Korra wasn’t holding back.

Their battle continued, and Tuesday was holding her own… for a little while.  She became a bit angry with herself when she noticed Korra starting to ease up again.  She used her frustrations as fuel for strength and sent a surge of wind towards Korra so strong she had to pull earth up from the ground to block it.  “You know they won’t be merciful on me, Korra!  They won’t be merciful on any of us if we encounter them.  Come at me!” she shouted, angry, not at her friend, but at the people who wanted to hurt her.

The Avatar’s eyes steeled, sensing the purpose in her friend, so she did exactly what she asked.  Poor Tuesday could barely keep up.  Fire singed her side, air ironically knocked the wind out of her, water swept her feet out from under her, but it was the rock she managed to take in the shoulder instead of her head that finally knocked her over.

She groaned but got back up and looked straight into Korra’s horrified eyes.  “We are NOT continuing,” she said.  “You’re hurt, and I’m going to heal you without any complaining, do you understand?” she demanded as she walked towards Tuesday.

“It’s just dislocated, and there might be a bruise, but you’ll fix it,” she said as she smiled at her friend.  The last thing she wanted was for Korra to feel bad about this.  “I know you still didn’t bring your full force out on me, at least not with bending.”

Korra blushed from being called out.  Tuesday grinned at the beauty next to her.  She was feeling sore, a little dizzy, and really proud.  Let those fuckers try to mess with her girls.

* * *

 

When Naga told them Asami was home, Korra grabbed Tuesday’s hand and pulled her to the door with her to greet her wife.

Tuesday felt very out of place and she fidgeted accordingly, knocking her toes against the floor, playing with her fingertips, looking anywhere but at the two newlyweds kissing passionately in the foyer.  It wasn’t that she didn’t want to watch, she just felt this was romantically intimate for them, and she wasn’t a part of that.

Before she knew what was happening, she was wrapped up in Asami’s arms.  She winced as Korra called out, “Not too tightly, Babe!”

Tuesday couldn’t help but giggle nervously as Asami pulled back and finally noticed the yellowing bruises on her body.  She froze as the woman grabbed her cheeks, her brilliant green eyes wandering over her face.  Her hands fell as she glared at the bruises on Tuesday’s arms and shoulders, one visible on her side peeking out from underneath her tank top…

“Korra!  You were too rough on her!”

Tuesday bravely took Asami’s chin and turned her gaze back to her.  “No, Asami.  Don’t blame Korra for this.  I told her not to hold back.  The enemy wouldn’t, so why should I train otherwise?  And trust me, she still held back some.  Tomorrow she isn’t going to, though, is she?” she interrogated, giving Korra a questioning glare.

Korra shook her head no, but she was lying.

Tuesday groaned out of her minute frustrations with the two women.  “Korra, you will train me properly tomorrow and you,” she said, turning to Asami, “I am fine.  Stop acting like I’m fragile.”  She paused; the physical pain her body had endured was no match to the emotional pain she’d suffered through in her life.  “I’ve already been broken beyond repair.  What do I have to lose?” 

She pretended to ignore the meeting of their eyes she wasn’t supposed to see.

“Now come on, dinner is getting cold.”

* * *

 

Asami threatened to beat Tuesday into next week if she didn’t let her give her a massage, so, not wanting a second ass-kicking today, the airbender reluctantly conceded, but only after quipping, “Wouldn’t that be counterproductive?”

“You have to take off your shirt.  It makes it so much easier for her to work out your muscles.  Oh!  And now we finally get to see the rest of your tattoos!” Korra chimed in.

They were out on the balcony and Asami had to laugh at how stoned they were.  Tuesday and Asami had finished off a bottle of peach wine while Korra did about four consecutive bong rips.  Asami and Tuesday then shared a bowl between them before she made the request to give their friend a massage, and now, as the three of them stumbled into the bedroom, Korra downed her third shot of firewhiskey.

“Okay, I’m done.  I am sufficiently fucked up,” Korra said as Tuesday stretched across the towels they’d laid for her on the bed.  Asami could see the fire in her wife’s eyes as she watched the lithe movements of the woman who was now, as she attempted to swallow her own desire, peeling her camisole off on their bed.

Her mouth watered as she saw the soft, tattooed flesh that was the side of Tuesday’s voluptuous breast before her arm covered it as she placed her arms at her side.  Snapping her attention back to her task at hand, she settled herself on the bed beside the airbender and gasped as her eyes fell on the artwork on her back.

It was a tree whose branches, trunk, and roots spanned the full length of her back.  Asami was taken aback by the details.  The leaves and roots were so intricate, even the bark was realistic.  Korra had joined her in eyeing the picture and she voiced something Asami had just noticed.

“There are names written on some of the branches.  This is a family tree,” she whispered, her fingers delicately tracing the branch holding Tuesday’s name. 

“Yes, I had it started after Dewey died, and it was finished right after Dad died.  I got into genealogy to see if we had any other family, but,” she sighed, “I’m it.  So it looks like the rest of my branches are going to stay empty.”

Korra sat back against the headboard, obviously forlorn.  “You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but have you thought about having more children?”

Asami poured scented oil in her hand.  She rubbed her hands together then applied them to Tuesday’s back.  She felt Tuesday sigh under the tutelage of her hands.  “I have, but I’ve not come to any solid decision.  I think right now I need to try and fix myself and enjoy myself.  Maybe then someone else might love me and wanting a child with them won’t be a question.  So I suppose you could say I don’t rule it out.” 

Korra seemed deep in thought at Tuesday’s answer.  Asami wondered if they were thinking the same thing- that Tuesday was a catch, even now with all her ghosts, and anyone that got the chance to love her would be lucky.

She noticed the small sideways grin that crept up on the woman’s face as her fingers worked out the knots in her back.  She felt herself grinning at her beautiful friend.  “What?”

“I suppose it goes without saying that you two are the first people to intimately touch me in several years… I mean… I suppose… if you consider the touching that has occurred between us as intimate.”  Tuesday’s whole face flushed red and she stuffed it into a pillow to hide her embarrassment.  Korra chuckled as Asami smiled endearingly, but neither of them seemed to be able to come back with any sort of response to her comment.  _We’re speechless now?_

Instead, Korra opted to talk about what they had covered today and shared the news of the switching of teaching and lessons between the three of them.  Asami beamed at the news of Ikki learning bass.  “You should have seen her!” Korra exclaimed, but her tale was halted as soon as Asami’s fingers pressed into Tuesday’s previously dislocated left shoulder- and she groaned.

Although the sound was probably expressed out of discomfort, it still set her blood on fire, and a quick glance at her wife confirmed she’d had the same reaction.  She chided herself at her selfishness and eased up on the pressure.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she apologized.

“No worries.  I expect it to be sore,” she mumbled.

“Shall I keep going?” she asked their friend.

“I certainly don’t want you to stop.”

_Oh my._

Asami looked at her wife’s smoldering eyes.  _Okay, she’s feeling this way, too._   She suddenly remembered she was supposed to be moving her hands so she went back to work on the bruised body beside her.  Once in awhile Tuesday would wince, but she never complained. 

Korra worked behind her by healing the areas that could still use a little help, and before long they had finished.  “I think you’re well enough for training tomorrow,” Korra said. 

“Even if I’m not I’m still training tomorrow… it’s the last chance I have to really practice before we go,” Tuesday stated adamantly.  Asami watched as the airbender modestly shimmied back into her cami before sitting up and wrapping her arms around her knees.  “I feel loads better, by the way.  Thank you both,” she said sincerely.

“Of course,” Asami said.  She was exhausted but not ready for bed.  She always had so much fun when it was the three of them, laughing and talking and cracking jokes, but time just seemed to fly by. 

Tuesday yawned and Asami involuntarily frowned.  “All right, darlings, I’m heading to bed.  She leaned over and hugged Korra tightly, and Asami couldn’t help but notice the surprised yet warm and soft look on her wife’s face.  It was absolutely beautiful.

Their friend came to embrace her next, and although she was considerate of the woman’s sore spots, she gave her a proper embrace.  She was constantly amazed that every time their skin touched, there was a hum in the contact, almost like they were being zapped with an extremely low voltage of electricity.  It was different from the feeling of completion she felt every time Korra touched or embraced her, but somehow still familiar. 

Tuesday climbed out of the bed and walked over to Naga, patting the polar bear dog’s head and rubbing behind an ear before heading to the door, but she stopped and smiled on her way out.  Asami’s eyes drank up the view- the long curls falling down her back and around her face, pink cheeks and soft, full lips, shining slate blue eyes that held thoughts she couldn’t completely figure out just yet…

“Good night.  I’ll see you two in the morning.”

“Good night, Tuesday,” Korra said, eyes fixated on the fair-skinned bender.  “If… you need us, you know where we are.”

“Good night, Tuesday.  See you for yoga bright and early,” she said.

Tuesday’s face disappeared and the door was shut.  Asami immediately cuddled up next to her wife.  “I love you,” she told her. 

“Mmm.  I love you too.  Are you beat?  I’m beat,” her adorable wife mumbled. 

“Did Tuesday wear you out?  She did well, right?” Asami asked.

Korra’s cyan eyes popped open and a lazy grin graced her lips.  “She’s doing really well considering this is so brand new to her.  I’m not worried,” she sighed as her eyes drifted shut.

Asami ran her fingers through soft dark chocolate locks. 

“Your hair is starting to get long again.  Are you going to let it grow?” she inquired, yawning.

“You already know the answer to that.”

Asami giggled.  “I have always loved this look, but I love your hair any way, Babe.”  She stretched out underneath the covers, pulling Korra along with her. 

“Mmhmm.  Sleepy Korra.  I love you.  Sweet dreams,” her wife told her, and within seconds her breathing had deepened from slumber.  She nuzzled the love of her life and quickly followed her.


	32. Tuesday Gets A Visit

All morning Tuesday struggled with the fact that she slept better when she had Korra and Asami next to her.  She enjoyed it too much, but she didn’t want to be dependent on them because they might not always be around. 

Soreness and lack of sleep did not help matters when it came to using her core, and she quickly tapped out of yoga, opting instead to go for a walk.  She’d been relatively quiet and didn’t even have words to tell Asami anything when she hopped up off her mat and took off at a leisurely pace.

It didn’t stop the engineer from following her.  Tuesday could hear her shoes hitting the few patches of frost-covered grass the sun hadn’t yet thawed.  Asami’s strong fingers had a gentle hold of her arm seconds later.

“Hey… are you okay?”

_Spirits, how is she so beautiful so early in the morning?_

“I’m… fine,” Tuesday lied.

Even as she scoffed she was still gorgeous.  “Please.  I’m a woman.  That line doesn’t work on me,” Asami smirked.  “And you’re a horrible liar.”

“Yeah, I know.  I always have been.  On the plus side I can usually tell when someone is lying to me, but I sure can’t tell if someone is keeping something from me.  Peculiar, isn’t it?” she joked half-heartedly.

Asami cut into her path and forced her to stop walking.  Tuesday shivered as a hand pulled her face up to look into those mesmerizing green eyes.  “We can see you healing every day, so what makes you think we’re not going to interfere if we see you running away from us?”

The words hit her like a ton of bricks.  Asami could see something in her eyes, even if she didn’t completely know what it was.  She could tell Tuesday had been trying to distance herself.

“I’m not running away, I just have a lot on my mind.”  She inwardly cursed as she saw Korra walking up behind Asami, a worried look on her face.  She had to be able to hide these feelings.  What would they think of her?

“You know what I meant,” Asami said softly as Korra walked up next to them.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Nothing, guys, really, I’ll be okay.  Some days are just hard for me.”  It wasn’t a lie… just misleading.

“Would you like to talk?” Korra asked.  Looking at Asami, her heart broke.  She looked defeated.  _Am I the cause of that look?_

The last thing she wanted to do was talk.  “Not really, I’m… sorry.  I just want to walk awhile.”  She turned and continued in the direction she had previously been heading.

What was she, a fucking masochist?  How could she let herself get this close to them?  Even if they were attracted to her, they were married.  Nothing but heartache could come out of this for her.  More people leaving, because eventually any fun they might partake in would have to stop.  At some point they might want to have kids and simply grow old together, and where would she be then?  Discarded. 

The tears that began to spill down her cheeks made her more angry than upset.  She’d airbended herself down several steep cliffs off to the side of the property, hoping to make herself scarce enough the girls wouldn’t want to follow her. 

The thought of leaving them equally broke her.  If she stayed, she’d always have to keep up the front of feeling only what a friend would feel, which meant no more nights in their arms.  Sooner or later, the unshakeable feelings she had for the two women would slowly fade, right? 

She was on a rollercoaster ride, and she wasn’t enjoying it.  Flopping cross-legged onto the ground, she buried her face in her hands.  It felt like an actual weight placed itself on her shoulders.

_Wait a second._

“You know, Avatar Kyoshi loved more than one woman at a time, too.”

“Avalon!”  More tears fell as Tuesday pulled the tiny spirit down into her embrace.  “You’re the color of a sunset,” she said distractedly.

The spirit allowed the embrace for another moment before she pulled away to face her.  “I wish you could see how brightly you’re shining right now,” Avalon told her, the cutest little smile on her face.

She smiled despite her emotional state.  “I wish I felt that way, but I don’t… hold on,” Tuesday paused, the spirit’s words finally registering in her head.  “Kyoshi… loved… multiple women?”

“Indeed.  Lots of Avatars have had more than one lover at a time.  It’s easy for them, you see, being fused with Raava.  They simply have more to give, and nothing that comes from Raava is bad,” she said, perching happily on Tuesday’s knee.  “As for Asami,” Avalon beamed, “In my thousands of years I have seen unwavering loyalty, complete selflessness, unyielding bravery, innovation and imagination.  I have seen beautiful people with the most open of minds and caring of hearts- but until she came along, no one had possessed all of those things at once, not like her.  She is the perfect combination of her father and mother- safe progress for the people of the world, the innovation, the imagination, the engineer’s brain and resilience from her father.  She has her mother’s heart- loyal, giving, caring, selfless, open-minded.  Together, those two women have already changed this world so much for the better,” the spirit confided. 

Tuesday’s blood froze as the spirit’s face fell.  “What’s wrong?  Why does your face look like that… and you’re talking about them…”

“You know their lives haven’t been easy ones, and sadly, that’s the life of the Avatar and their family.  Things won’t always be hard, but they won’t always be easy, either.  But according to the Spirit World collectively, we believe she and Asami have earned… well… you,” Avalon explained sheepishly.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, what might have happened had you not saved Asami the other night?  We rarely meddle in human lives, but even we recognize when a single moment can shift the fate of the world,” Avalon said, her tiny yellow-orange hand gesturing as she spoke.  “We couldn’t stop the driver from drinking just like we couldn’t stop the Avatar from staying home instead of going with the engineer that night.”

“But by creating the portal- something you could do- it ensured I’d be there to save her.”

“In a roundabout way, yes, although you receiving airbending was a surprise!” Avalon smiled and tossed her feet jubilantly.

“So that wasn’t you, huh?  Is it what Korra thinks… um, Harmonic Convergence I think it was?” Tuesday asked, intrigued.

“I believe so.  If you’d have wound up with earthbending we would have been much more confused,” the spirit chirped. 

Tuesday’s mind was a jumbled mess.  “How could you tell…?”

“What?  That you love them?  I can read it in your aura, and I know your heart, so it’s easy for me to see.”

She wondered briefly if she should avoid Jinora, and if she couldn’t, could the airbending master keep a secret?

“I don’t know what to do, Avalon.”

“Did you hear anything I said?  Goodness, humans are dense.  Nowhere in this or any world will you find two women better suited to love you than them, and vice versa,” she stated with a hint of frustration in her voice. 

“Do you not understand that people generally don’t just walk up to married couples- especially ones fresh off their honeymoon- and profess their love for them?” she asked, flabbergasted.

“Why not?” the spirit asked.

“You know, considering your age and wisdom I’m surprised you don’t understand what rejection feels like.  But then again, you’re awesome, so who could ever reject you?” she asked, hugging the spirit to her.  Avalon popped out of her arms and giggled.

“I do so love hugs, but human ones tickle!” the spirit squealed, settling back into the nook of Tuesday’s crossed legs.  “But back to the subject at hand, what makes you think they’ll reject you?”

“They’re in love with each other; why would they want me too?  And it’s not a common type of relationship at all…”

“It’s more common than you realize…” Avalon countered.

“But… honestly I just don’t know how they feel.  Do… do you?” she inquired, almost afraid of the answer.

“I have a feeling, but it’s not for me to say.  I am also not connected to them the way I am to you.  But I will say this- do NOT forget that you were chosen for this place, and this place for you,” Avalon answered with conviction. 

“Okay, I won’t,” she replied meekly.  It seemed her decision had been made for her long ago.

“Oh, and I almost forgot why I came to see you today,” the spirit said, voice high with excitement.  “How could that be, what with news so interesting!”

“What is it?  Is it about the horse?”  Tuesday couldn’t believe it.

“It is, though she is no ordinary pony,” Avalon began.  “She’s a very old wind spirit, and she was once a part of my world.”

Tuesday gasped as the weight of Avalon’s words hit her.  Breathlessly she asked, “She’s from the Spirit world?”

“Yes.  In my reading I have learned that your portal is not the first like it.  Thousands upon thousands of years ago, long before I ever manifested, there used to be a handful of portal walkers that would travel between the realms for many reasons.  Your friend went to a realm a very long time ago to assist in problems occurring there, and somehow, she got stuck.  The writings don’t tell what happened, but I did come to find that around that time, all of the realm portals disappeared, and yours is the first to occur since then.  So you see, there is a reason she was drawn to you, and the portal, in the first place.”

“You think I could bring her through with me?” Tuesday asked eagerly.  “Could I somehow bring her home?”

“There’s only one way to find out.  Next time you go through, try coming back with her.”

“Okay.  What if that doesn’t work?” Tuesday inquired.  Her eyes grew wide as Avalon started to fade away.

Her answer sounded distant.  “I’m sure you two will figure it out.  Oh, and by the way,” the spirit added, her voice so quiet Tuesday had to strain her ears to catch her words, “Keep your eyes open.”


	33. Get Together: Part 1

“Do you think she’s mad at us?” Asami asked as Tuesday disappeared over the edge of the yard.

Korra heard the hurt in her wife’s voice and wrapped her arms around her consolingly.  “No, not at all.  I don’t know if you noticed, but it looked like she didn’t sleep very well… the darkness was back under her eyes, and she was noticeably withdrawn.  I get the feeling maybe she’s upset she can’t sleep well unless she’s with us.  I could be wrong, but I think I’m starting to read her better.”

“She knows she can stay with us and we’ll tell her if we need to be alone…” Asami began, but Korra cut her off.

“Babe, it isn’t that easy.  Think about it from her perspective.  You already know she feels like a burden, and she probably thinks when we offer for her to stay we’re just being nice, and if that’s the case when will we stop offering, so she doesn’t want to keep doing it…”

“…because it’ll harder all the more when it does stop,” Asami concluded.  She sighed.  They may as well approach this heavy subject now.  “Come on, walk with me and stay with me while I get ready.  I think we need to talk about all of this.”  She started towards the house, and Korra followed, their fingers entwined.

“Yes, I’ve been thinking that also,” Korra agreed.  “I’m really confused… my emotions are confused.”

“My sentiments exactly,” Asami concurred.  “What is going on with the three of us, Korra?”

There it was… the big question.  A huge question she didn’t really have an answer for.  “I’ve always been nothing but honest with you, and that isn’t going to change now, so, I care about Tuesday… a lot.  When we met her it felt like I already knew her, and now that I do know about her I feel like I’ve known her most my life.  I want to say she’s our friend, but… it feels deeper than that,” she finished, hoping her wife understood and selfishly hoping she felt the same way.

Asami nodded.  “Yes, but, not just sexually for me, either,” she confessed, those bright green eyes staring into hers, completely bared. 

A feeling of relief washed over her.  “Spirits, okay, good, then it isn’t just me.”  A huge grin spread across Asami’s face.  “I get the friendship, and I get the sexual tension,” Korra added, “but there’s something stronger, deeper, even though it doesn’t quite feel the same as how I feel about you.”

“But it’s familiar, right?  I get that with her, too.  I…” Asami paused, looking deeply into her eyes as if to read her thoughts, “…I… have thought about… what it would be like… to be with both of you.”

Korra had to bend the elements to cool her rising temperature at these words even though it was something she already knew.  “We both want that, don’t we?” she asked.

Asami’s eyes traveled to the ground before coming back up to meet her gaze.  “Not just physically, Korra.  I meant… what if we wanted Tuesday to stay with us every night…?”

_Oh.  OH._

“You mean BE with the both of us, romantically?”

“I won’t consider it another moment if the thought of it makes you feel anything negative.  And it’s not something I’m pining for I just… wouldn’t be opposed to seeing if it worked.  I mean, we have already been moving towards it inadvertently all week,” Asami pointed out.

And she couldn’t deny it either.  Even though it hadn’t shown itself to Korra the way it had to Asami, she could still see where her wife was coming from, and as usual, she was right.

“Korra, please tell me how you feel.  I haven’t upset, you, have I?” Asami pleaded.

Squeezing her wife’s hand in reassurance, she answered.  “No, I was just coming to realize you were right… the way we’ve acted with her isn’t just coming from something platonic, even though I think I tried to tell myself that’s what it was.  It hasn’t just been sexual… there’s something else there, and like you, I’d be willing to see where it could go…”

Asami jumped into her arms, and she felt a peace settle within her that drove all her confusing thoughts about their situation with Tuesday away.  “It’s strange,” Korra began, still holding her wife in her arms, “but I feel like we’re the type of people that could handle a relationship this… unique.  Do you think there are other people in this world who share their bed with more than one person?”

“I’ve never met anyone with more than one partner,” Asami said quietly.  “But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist somewhere.  I remember when I was younger I didn’t see a lot of same-sex couples, either, and now we’re everywhere.”

But Korra was caught in a memory or something like it… something that was just on the outskirts of her mind, barely out of reach.  She took a deep breath and reached inward, and that’s when a slew of information popped into her mind.

“The water tribes!  Okay, seeing a same sex couple was a rare occurrence for you in your youth... but it wasn’t for me.  The water tribes have always been accepting of it because when it’s cold and the wind is harsh and the snow drifts are high enough to block your whole door they feel no one has the right to tell you the person you seek warmth with is of the wrong gender.  Remembering that, I thought of something else… I was really young, but my parents had some friends, a young couple like them.  I remember another woman being around them a lot, and I think I just realized what she was to them.”

“She was their lover?  What makes you think that?” Asami asked her.

“The affection between them; I’m pretty sure at some point I asked Mom why the ladies kissed each other but they didn’t kiss her.  I wish I could remember her answer, but this was before I even left for the compound.  I wonder if I could… talk to my parents about this.  Would that bother you?” she asked her wife.

“No, it will be nice to learn more, and I think maybe we should talk to Tuesday soon, too.  If you’re right about how she’s feeling, and I think you are, it isn’t fair that she’s going through this alone, and we have each other to talk to,” Asami noted. 

“Okay, but maybe we should wait until after the mission?  Would it be too much right now before going into something potentially so dangerous?” Korra asked, unsure.

“How about we try to get through the day and the get together tonight, and we’ll go from there,” Asami suggested, and her wife nodded in agreement.

* * *

 

Korra felt so much warmth watching Tuesday move through the crowd that was her extended family.  She had a shy grin on her face, and she fidgeted like Korra did when she was nervous, but she talked to everyone and everyone talked to her.  Jinora and Kai had shown up to wish them luck on their mission since they wouldn’t be able to come by tomorrow; Tuesday had been so excited to meet her tech guy, and Kai was equally excited to hear something different and new was coming to Republic City, especially since it meant he had a steady line of work coming with it.

Ikki had been there all day for training but when they had finished sparring Tuesday had told the girl to stay since they knew Tenzin would be coming over later anyway.  Korra couldn’t help but wonder if she was trying to avoid being alone with her or Asami.  Perhaps she was being paranoid.  She knew Ikki and Tuesday really liked each other after all.  She hoped that later when they went to bed they might have the chance to talk to her to make sure everything was okay between the three of them.  When Asami had come home from work, she and Tuesday and Ikki had received huge hugs, and Korra noticed her wife held Tuesday close to her just a moment longer than usual.  When they pulled apart, even though she tried to hide them, their friend’s stormy eyes had been glossed over with tears.

She wasn’t sure what was going on with her, but she wanted to know.  If they knew, maybe they could fix it. 

Asami had been talking with Bolin and Opal for awhile, her back towards the rest of the room, but Korra watched as her wife noticed Tuesday walking near them.  As their friend walked by and without even turning her head away from her conversation, Asami snaked an arm around a startled Tuesday and pulled her into a hug.  The sight sent a quiver through Korra’s mind, body and soul.  If an embrace between them made her feel this way she could only imagine how she’d feel if Asami were to just lean down a little bit and brush her full, red lips against that pouty pink pair…

“You might wanna ease up, there,” Kya said, having popped up out of nowhere.  “It was easy for me to spot, and I’m pretty sure Jinora’s picked up on it too, but if you don’t want anyone else to figure it out, you shouldn’t stare.”

Whereas a second ago Korra felt warm from head to toe, right now she was frozen solid.  “What are you talking about?”

“Korra, please,” she said.  Kya stepped closer to her, but she did so inconspicuously to help their conversation stay private.  “You two are crushing on that girl.  When either of you are looking at her I’m trying to figure out whether you’re going to cover her in honey or throw her on the hibachi table.”

“She’s just… pretty.  There’s nothing wrong with looking at her.”

“Uh huh.  Both of you seek her out in the room when she’s not with both or either of you, and she looks for the two of you, also.  Your body language says it all, especially when you’re standing close to her.  So are you going to keep denying it or are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Kya interrogated.

Korra took a swig of firewhiskey from her flask.  “Nothing is going on.”

“But you want there to be.”  It wasn’t a question.

Korra sighed resignedly.  She knew she could trust Kya, besides, there was no point in denying it any further.  Kya was just too good at reading people.  “Yes, we like her… a lot.  And it’s been really confusing.  She’s been sleeping with us… I mean,” Korra shook her head, “Sleeping in the bed with us.”

“She’s a gorgeous girl, and she has such a beautiful personality.  Spirits, if I was younger I’d go after her.” Kya said.

The waterbender’s words sparked a tiny jolt of jealousy within Korra.  “Okay, see…” she grabbed Kya by the arm and pulled her into a quieter corner of the room, “you saying that made me feel a little jealous, but ever since Tuesday has been here and she’s been affectionate with Asami or me or we’ve touched her neither of us has felt jealous about it.  Why is that?”

“Already staking a claim to her, eh?” Kya asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Damn it, Kya, are you channeling Varrick right now?  I’m being serious!”

“So was I.  If you’re feeling jealous, that obviously means you want her,” Kya explained.  “You two have talked about all of this, I hope.”

“We talk about it every day.  There wouldn’t even be a question about any of this if Asami didn’t feel it, too,” Korra answered.

“Good.  So what conclusion have you come to?”

“All of this isn’t weird to you?” Korra raised a single eyebrow in question.

“I come from the same water tribe as you do, but then again, you were young when you left the village.  There’s always been a history of multi-partnered relationships in the tribes.  The women sought solace with their female friends while the men were out on long hunting trips, and sometimes a man would come back to find their woman insisting her new “friend” stay around.  You know our men are smart; they didn’t argue,” she chuckled.  “But those weren’t the only instances.  I… uh… well, in my twenties I was seeing two women… a couple… for quite some time.”

Korra wasn’t as surprised at the news as she was at Kya’s uncharacteristic nervousness.  “Hey, I’m certainly not judging you,” she said, placing her hand on the waterbender’s shoulder.

“Oh, I know, and I’m not ashamed or anything but… my family doesn’t know about that particular time in my life, well, except Bumi,” the older woman admitted.

“Well I suppose our secrets cancel out each other, leaving us absolutely nothing to use on each other for blackmail,” Korra kidded, and Kya laughed heartily.  “So… what was that like?”

“To be completely honest with you, I’ve only ever romantically loved three people my entire life, and they were two of them, Lin being the third.  If they hadn’t wanted to bring a male into the relationship to start having kids, and if I hadn’t been in love with Lin most of my life, chances are I would have stayed.  But you know I never wanted kids, and that sort of thing is a deal-breaker for most people.  Leaving them was really hard, but it was necessary.  As for what it was like, well, it just felt like an insanely close friendship with earth-shattering sex.  I thought there might be such a thing as too many lady parts to keep up with, but that didn’t end up being the case when it came down to it.”

Korra found that she was very thankful for the dim lights in the room.

“You never answered my question, by the way, regarding what the two of you have decided to do about this,” Kya called out.

“We are going to talk to her after the mission,” Korra answered.  “Just in case we’re wrong about how she feels…”

“You’re not,” Kya interrupted.

“…we don’t want her mind occupied with it.  You think she’s into us?” Korra asked.

“Oh definitely, but I think she may be just as scared as the two of you are about approaching the subject,” she answered.  “You two just make sure you both know exactly what you’re doing before you jump into anything that’ll hurt her.  Now I know I’m not as spiritual as Jinora, but I know people, and that girl has seen pain.  I can see it in her eyes.”

Korra gave her dear friend a look that told her she knew.  “You have no idea.”


	34. Get Together: Part 2

“Hey!  Look who made it!” Bolin called out boisterously.

Asami’s eyes turned to the archway and smiled as Mako walked through.  They didn’t get to see enough of their friend, but at least now they knew why, and they hadn’t had a chance to properly congratulate him.  She excused herself from her conversation with Jinora and Kai before walking over and giving the firebender a tight squeeze.  “Congratulations, Chief,” she said quietly. 

Mako gave her a modest yet sincere grin.  “Thanks Asami, I appreciate that.  How’s married life?”

“Absolutely divine,” answered Korra from behind her.  She felt warm, loving arms wrap around her waist, and she happily laid her arms on top of the familiar arm sleeves.  “How are things at the precinct, Chief?” she asked with a wink.

“Don’t let Bolin hear you.  Everyone in Republic City will know by morning.”  Mako’s eyes were fixed on something over Asami’s shoulder, so she turned to follow his gaze.  “Who is that?” he inquired.

“That’s Tuesday, our friend who airbended the car out of the way during that accident,” she answered.  “I’m still alive because of her.”

“Well thank goodness she was there.  That guy was a repeat offender, so he’s still locked up,” Mako informed them.  “So, she seems nice.”

She noticed Korra’s eyes narrow the slightest bit.  “She’s very sweet, but also shy.  Once you get her to open up she’s hilarious,” Asami answered, nonchalantly pinching her wife’s arm.  “Would you like to meet her?”

“Sure.”  Asami recognized the look in the firebender’s eyes, as he had looked at her that way more than once. 

Korra must’ve recognized it too, because she huffed, “I’ll go get her,” before abruptly turning and walking towards their friend. 

Asami turned to face Mako, hoping he didn’t pick up on Korra’s jealousy.  He seemed oblivious, so she asked, “So how’s the turf these days?  Part of me misses the thrill from the old days, but the other side of me is gracious for the peace.  We didn’t see a lot of that back then, and who knows what’s coming tomorrow.”

“I’m really sorry I can’t be there with all of you for this… situation.  I feel horrible about it.  I told Korra I’d always have her back, and here I am skipping out on her,” Mako confessed, regret in his voice.

“Korra understands you have a city to take care of, Mako, and in doing so you still serve the Avatar.  You give her one less thing to worry about,” Asami assured him.  He smiled humbly.

“Mako, this is Tuesday.  Tuesday, Mako.”  Whatever little mood Korra had been in when she walked away had disappeared somewhere in the last minute.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Mako said, extending his hand.  Tuesday shook it firmly, which Asami was proud to see.

“Likewise.  So these ladies tell me you’re the law around these parts,” she said.  _Was she flirting?_

The firebender’s cheeks turned pink as he chuckled nervously.  “Well, I’m a detective.  I try to protect and serve, you know, the usual.”  Poor Mako.  He was so awkward sometimes.  Okay, all the time.

“That’s a good thing.  And you’re a firebender?  That’s neat,” Tuesday said, visibly shy.  _Okay, no, she’s just making small talk in her quirky ways.  She’s so adorable._

“Yeah.  So what was it like discovering your airbending?” Mako asked. 

“Sorry to interrupt, guys, but Korra and I need to talk to Lin.  We’ll get back with you two in a bit,” Asami said, pulling her wife towards the current chief of police. 

“Hey, what’d you do that for?  You left her there with one of the worst conversationalists in the world,” Korra said, her eyes on their friend. 

“Korra, if they hit it off, we shouldn’t stand in the way of that,” she told her wife, and she heard the bit of disappointment in her own voice.  _Stop being selfish_ , she reprimanded herself.

They got lost in a conversation with Lin about their plans for tomorrow and the first full day they would be around the islands, and quite a bit of time had passed when they felt Tuesday come up between them, surprising them by wrapping an arm around each of them.  Asami looked behind her and noticed that Bolin and Opal had joined Mako, and the three of them were looking over to where they all stood. 

“What’s Mako doing staring over here like a fool?” Lin asked, and Tuesday chuckled. 

“It’s been requested that I play a song, so I came to see if that was okay,” Tuesday stated. 

“Of course that’s okay!  Now you get to hear her!” Korra said excitedly to Lin. 

Even the Chief of Police couldn’t keep the small smile off her face at the Avatar’s jubilance.

* * *

 

Asami and Korra had moved everyone into the music room so Tuesday could plug in to play.  It was a bit of a tight fit, and she was more nervous than she cared to admit, but this was like riding a bike for her.  Any time she was anxious about performing she’d just close her eyes and the whole world would fall away, leaving her with the music.

It had crossed her mind that she had a test group assembled here.  If they enjoyed the music, chances are the venue could be successful.  She had chosen two songs to play- one she’d chosen for its humor and the second she wanted to play because it was a beautiful song that reminded her of her father and the day after tomorrow would have been his birthday.

She straightened her guitar strap and tuned her guitar, set up and turned on her equipment with shaky hands.  Tuesday was pretty sure Korra had noticed her stage fright because she was being loud enough that everyone was focusing on her instead of the sweaty musician.  She’d have to thank her for that later.

When she was ready, she stood behind the microphone stand and plugged in her acoustic, strumming the keys gently to check her sound.  The room got quiet, and Tuesday couldn’t help but smile at the faces full of excitement that were looking her way.  It restored her confidence, and she spoke up, ready to perform.

“So you’ve all met me, I’m Tuesday, and I’m only saying that because it’s engrained in me to introduce myself to my audience.”  A few chuckles scattered throughout the crowd.  “It’s a pleasure to play for all of you, and I apologize in advance for any rustiness you may witness up here tonight.  So without further ado, the first song I want to play for you is about what you say to your friends after a break-up.  Oh, uh, a Scion is a vehicle, Superman is a fictional hero and Yom Kippur is a holy day where I come from, so that’ll help the song make a little more sense.  Enjoy.”

Tuesday’s fingers started frolicking across the strings.  Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she started to sing.

_My heart is paralyzed_   
_My head was oversized_   
_I’ll take the high road like I should_   
_You said it’s meant to be_   
_That it’s not you, it’s me_   
_You’re leaving now for my own good_

_That’s cool, but if my friends ask where you are I’m gonna say_

_She went down in an airplane_   
_Fried getting suntanned_   
_Fell in a cement mixer full of quicksand_   
_Help me, help me, I’m no good at goodbyes_   
_She met a shark under water_   
_Fell and no one caught her_   
_I returned everything I ever bought her_   
_Help me, help me, I’m all out of lies_   
_And ways to say you died_

_My pride still feels the sting_   
_You were my everything_   
_Someday I’ll find a love like yours_   
_She’ll think I’m Superman_   
_Not super minivan_   
_How could you leave on Yom Kippur?_

_That’s cool but if my friends ask where you are I’m gonna say_

_She was caught in a mudslide_   
_Eaten by a lion_   
_Got run over by a crappy purple Scion_   
_Help me, help me, I’m not good at goodbyes_   
_She dried up in the desert_   
_Drowned in a hot tub_   
_Danced to death at an east side night club_   
_Help me, help me, I’m all out of lies_   
_And ways to say you died_

When the song was finished, applause mixed with laughter sent Tuesday’s heart soaring.  This was the best part of performing.  She opened her eyes and nodded her head towards the small crowd in thanks.  She smiled as they quieted down then thanked them officially over the microphone. 

“I’m glad everyone enjoyed that.  Needless to say I’m worried how the city will receive the music I play, but you guys have given me confidence, so I really appreciate that.  So, the second song I want to play for you is a little slower and uh, well, it reminds me of my Dad, who would be turning fifty-two the day after tomorrow if he was still on this plane of existence.  Beautiful song, hope you enjoy it,” Tuesday finished softly, strumming the beginning notes of a song she’d played many, many times.

_The light was leaving_  
 _In the west it was blue_  


_The children’s laughter sang_   
_And skipping just like the stones they threw_   
_Their voices echoed across the way_   
_It’s getting late_

_It was just another night_   
_With a sunset_   
_And a moon rise not so far behind_   
_To give us just enough light_   
_To lay down underneath the stars_   
_Listen to Papa’s translations_   
_Of the stories across the sky_   
_We drew our own constellations_

* * *

 

Bolin coughed.  “Did I do it right?”

Asami, Korra, and Tuesday chuckled as the lavabender exhaled his first hit from a pipe.  Everyone except Lin, Kya, Opal and Bolin were gone, and the latter was the only one still awake, save the hostesses.

_The people currently under this roof will be leaving tomorrow not one hundred percent sure of their return_ , Tuesday thought to herself.  She felt like the thought should have scared her, but it didn’t.  Instead, she felt a sense of pride.

“I’d like to make a toast,” she announced without thinking.  _Damn you, alcohol._   “It’s nothing big really, I just… Korra, you’re my friend, and we leave tomorrow, and I just wanted you to know I’m proud to fight for you, and I’m proud to serve the Avatar.”

“Kanpai,” Bolin said, tapping his water bottle against the various drinking receptacles belonging to the ladies in his company.

“I’ll drink to that,” Asami said playfully, winking at her wife.

“Thank you.  We’re going to get through this one just like we’ve gotten through all the others,” Korra said, fierce determination shining in those ocean blue eyes. 

She’d been able to maintain a mostly safe distance from the girls all day, and having company most of the day certainly helped.  Avalon’s words continued to resonate in her mind, nurturing the tiny seed of hope she thought she’d gotten rid of.  And in a little while Bolin will go to bed and she will be alone with them and how much longer could she stand to have her hands on them without showing them what her hands could really do?

As if on cue, Bolin yawned.  “It’s about time I join my fiancée,” he said.  “I love you guys, and you too, Tuesday, you’re part of us now,” he said, sweeping her up into a big hug.  It was sweet but strong, brief yet thorough.  When she pulled away, the earthbender was giving her a dazzling smile.

“Bolin, you give a seriously righteous hug, man,” Tuesday said, clapping her new friend on the shoulder. 

“Doesn’t he?” Korra agreed, jumping into a hug with her buddy.  He hugged her back and pulled Asami into a tight squeeze before leading them into the master suite. 

“Good night, ladies.  I will see you all at breakfast,” he said, exiting the bedroom and pulling the door closed behind him.

The only thing Tuesday could hear was her heart, and the sound in her ears went fuzzy.

_Am I seriously fainting right now?_

She must have swayed in her spot because faster than she could decide to find a place to sit she found herself picked up in Korra’s arms.

_Oh for Spirit’s sake, this isn’t helping._

“What’s wrong?” Asami asked as she pulled the blankets down on the bed.  “Did you drink too much?”

Korra placed her gently on the bed before sitting next to her.  “No, I barely drank at all.  I ate, I drank plenty of water, Korra healed me from today’s sparring… maybe I’m just…” _mad about the both of you and I want to ravage you both until you’re gasping my name_ , “tired.  I just need a good night’s sleep.”

Cyan and electric green eyes looked her over and Korra’s hands shot out to scan her.  She let them satisfy their concerns, knowing that arguing with them at this point would accomplish nothing.  When their eyes slowed and found their way back to her face, she jokingly asked while giving them a smile, “Do I pass inspection?” 

“Promise us that if the time comes time to face any fights you’ll tell us if you’re not feeling well,” Asami requested.

“You have my word, but I really think I’m just tired.  I’ve been pushing myself in training, that’s all.  Don’t worry,” Tuesday paused, words behind her lips she wasn’t sure she should say just because of the way they could be taken.  Making her decision, she added softly, “Come to bed.”  Instead of watching their reactions, she chose instead to shimmy out of her jeans and flannel and drop them on the floor, leaving her in her black cotton cami set.  She closed her eyes and laid there still after pulling the covers up to her waist. 

A moment later she felt Asami press herself against her back, and she bit her tongue to stifle a moan.  A combination of scents- ink and parchment, engine oil, vanilla, wood and wine- flooded her senses as she felt silk slide against her back.  Tuesday’s breathing came to a complete stop as she felt soft peaks push against her shoulder blades, and she silently cursed herself for shedding her outer layer of clothing.

The lights in the room went out, and the bed moving the slightest bit told Tuesday that Korra had joined them, and with the realization came a warm hand across her waist, followed by a second that tucked itself under her body. 

She had to coax her lungs into taking a breath.  Being held like this almost made it feel like she was loved.  She knew the girls cared about her, sure… come to think of it, they held her closer than Noelle ever did, and not just in the physical sense.  Maybe there was something to the way they acted with her.  Maybe she should just go for it. 

_Maybe you should wait until after we go face a bunch of bad guys._

Asami’s soft voice spoke her name behind her, startling her.  The hand that had been tucked under her moved up her belly, stopping just under her breasts.  A shuddering breath escaped her lips, and she immediately tensed with fear that they recognized the sound for what it was.  Remembering that Asami had said her name, she swallowed the emotion in her voice before whispering, “Yeah?”

“Are we okay?  I know you were upset this morning, and I got in your way, then I feel like I should have followed you,” Asami sighed.  “I just feel like I let you down a little.  We’ve all been so close the last several days and this morning when I saw the shadows behind your eyes again I didn’t know what to do to fix it.  I’m sorry, and I just want to make sure that things… haven’t changed… for the three of us.”

Tears welled up in her eyes as she found the hand pressed against her belly and squeezed it before doing the same to the one resting on her waist.  “I apologize for this morning.  I had some things on my mind that I needed to work through, and I took out my frustrations on you both.  I’m very sorry.  Neither of you let me down whatsoever,” she retorted adamantly. 

“Well you don’t need to apologize for having a bad morning,” Korra chipped in.  “Spirits knows I have them.  Mornings are evil.”

Tuesday chuckled as the tears fell and landed on her pillow.  “I don’t know… with the exception of this morning I have had some pretty amazing mornings as of lately,” she admitted.  “I have a feeling tomorrow morning will be better.”


	35. An Unexpected Duet

The manor was generally a pretty quiet place, even with its owners at home, but one thing you never found was silence when there were more people within its walls… with the exception of this morning.  Everyone seemed to be well rested, but the task at hand was on everyone’s mind.  Kya and Tuesday shuffled around the kitchen preparing breakfast as Asami, Korra, Bolin, Opal and Lin stood or sat nearby.  Juice and coffee had been distributed and Kya was piling scrambled eggs on a serving dish while Tuesday plated sausages and pancakes. 

Moving the food to a dining table with Kya, Tuesday noticed how everyone wordlessly followed them.  They moved as a family, but the looks of worry on everyone’s face hurt her.  _We have to stay confident_ , she thought.  _We aren’t dead yet._   A tiny smile formed on her lips, unbeknownst to her company. 

She sat down in a chair between Kya and Asami and fixed her plate just like everyone else, but instead of digging in, she started tapping her fingers on the side of the table.  A few glances came her way, but she ignored them and started to hum along to the beat created by her digits.  Out of the corner of her eye she saw Asami’s beautiful face light up as she figured out what Tuesday was doing.

_So freaking sexy and smart…_ Tuesday suppressed her thoughts in order to follow through with her plan.  She continued her beat but stopped her humming as words started to spill from her lips.

_Rising up, back on the street_   
_Did my time, took my chances_   
_Went the distance, now I’m back on my feet_   
_Just a girl and her will to survive_

She braved an upward glance and found Asami, Korra, and Bolin grinning, Opal and Kya looking amused, and Lin, well, wearing a scowl.  She winked at the Chief as she continued to sing.

_So many times it happens too fast_   
_You change your passion for glory_   
_Don’t lose your grip on the dreams of the past_   
_You must fight just to keep them alive_

_It’s the eye of the tiger_   
_It’s the thrill of the fight_   
_Rising up to the challenge of our rival_   
_And the last known survivor_   
_Stalks his prey in the night_   
_And he’s watching us all with the eye of the tiger_

“This song is awesome!” Bolin exclaimed, and Lin rolled her eyes while everyone else laughed.  Tuesday high-fived Bo across the table and got up out of her chair.

_Face to face, out in the heat_   
_Hanging tough, staying hungry_   
_They stack the odds ‘til we take to the street_   
_For the kill with the skill to survive_

_It’s the eye of the tiger_   (Bolin starts singing along with her and jumps out of his seat.)  
_It’s the thrill of the fight_  
 _Rising up to the challenge of our rival_  
 _And the last known survivor_  
 _Stalks his prey in the night_  
 _And he’s watching us all with the eye of the tiger_

She and Bo met up and wrapped their arms around each other’s shoulders.  Well, she tried.  Bolin’s shoulders were really broad.  He started swaying them side to side, and she tried to sing her best through her grin as she watched her new buddy root her on.

_Rising up, straight to the top_   
_Had the guts, got the glory_   
_Went the distance, now I’m not going to stop_   
_Just a man and his will to survive_

She looked at Lin and finally- there was a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.  “Let’s finish big, Bo,” she said.

_It’s the eye of the tiger_   
_It’s the thrill of the fight_   
_Rising up to the challenge of our rival_   
_And the last known survivor_   
_Stalks her prey in the night_   
_And she’s watching us all with the eye of the tiger_

The table erupted in laughter and applause as she bowed, pulling Bolin down with her.  She pulled away and bowed to Bo.  “You did great, man!”

“How did you know the words to the song, Bolin?” Opal asked.

He gave her an endearing look while answering.  “You know I improvise well, Darling.”

Tuesday blushed a little at the realization that she’d totally acted like a fool in front of everyone, but her embarrassment was quickly forgotten when she noticed Korra and Asami were beaming at her.

As she normally did when she was nervous, she started to ramble.

“Everyone seemed so down, and I know I’m the newbie here and I don’t know what we’re up against and all that but I know I won’t give up, so… I figured a funny rendition of a song with cleverly fitting lyrics might brighten everyone’s morning a little.”  As soon as she sat down at the table Asami’s arms had her pulled into a tight hug and Kya’s hand was on her shoulder.

Asami let her go and Kya squeezed her shoulder.  “I see nothing but smiles now… even Lin smiled!” Kya stated.  “That was exactly what we needed.”


	36. A Bit of a Wrench

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cackling*

When they arrived at the docks later that afternoon Tuesday eyed the “decoy” merchant ship they would be traveling on and felt thankful she had her sea legs.  It looked like it had seen better days, but as soon as she boarded she could tell the ship was well built.

“Mrs. Sato, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” greeted a deep male voice, and Tuesday’s head turned to see who Asami was getting acquainted with for the first time.  She felt her eyebrows lift as she looked upon the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen.  Ever.  In her whole life.  In two worlds.

It was almost like Korra and Asami had somehow spawned a full grown son.  His complexion was spot-on to Korra’s, and his hair long, straight, jet black and catching the sun’s rays with its gloss.  Although his eyes were a shade darker than Asami’s, they were soft like hers, and the green stood out against his dark skin.  He was a couple of inches taller than Asami, and his sleeveless white shirt showed several tattoos on his arms, and Tuesday had to admit to herself that she was staring.

It’d been quite some time since a man had caught her eye.  He was just… wow.

“This is my wife Korra, and our close friends Kya, Lin, Bolin, Opal, and Tuesday,” Asami rattled off.  With a bow, she was finally able to tear her eyes off of him.  As she straightened up, she froze as the man looked right at her.

“Tuesday.  What a unique name!  I’m Pax.”  He extended his hand and she shook it firmly.  He held her gaze for a second longer before turning to the rest of the group.  “It’s very nice to meet all of you.  Mrs. Sato, if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to captain’s quarters.  I’ve prepared the first mate’s cabin for myself during the duration of this voyage.”

“Pax, you needn’t do that.  Korra and I can take a regular cabin.  You’re the captain, after all,” she said.

“I may be the captain, but you own the boat,” he replied with humor and a dazzling grin.  Shallow dimples dotted his cheeks and his eyes sparkled.  _Stop staring, Tuesday._   She turned to look at her company and realized she wasn’t the only one, although Opal was the only one who was obviously as smitten as she was.  Tuesday chuckled while hoping Bolin didn’t notice.

“Good point, but it’s not called ‘owner’s quarters’,” Asami countered.

“Touche’, Mrs. Sato,” Pax grinned again.  _Please. Stop. Smiling._   “If you please, follow me.”

Pax led the group through a quick tour ending with the cabins.  He spoke kindly to everyone and cracked horrible boat jokes, and his laugh was either a deep chuckle that rumbled in his chest or a belly laugh that brought smiles to everyone’s faces.  He just emanated charisma.

Tuesday’s favorite part had to be when Lin and Kya claimed a cabin with a double bed.  Pax’s face briefly held a look of surprise before he grinned from ear to ear and said, “Right on!”

_This thing is adorable.  What is wrong with me?_

Sad thing was Tuesday knew exactly what was wrong with her.  It had been way, way, way too long since she’d had sex.  She’d also been sharing a bed with the two most beautiful women in two worlds as of lately, and she could swear they touched her like they wanted her, but she was afraid to say anything so instead the sexual tension just kept building, and building… and now there was an insanely handsome man who kept looking at her and smiling and he could possibly be a really nice distraction.

She thanked him with a smile and a nod as he showed her a single cabin.  As soon as the door was shut behind her she threw her back against it and tried to calm herself down. 

_Something’s gotta give._

She stored her bag under her bunk and stretched out across the thin but surprisingly comfortable mattress, using her entwined hands as a makeshift pillow.  Her mind was stuck on something- since she’d come to this world so many people seemed to find her attractive.  She was seldom approached or looked at with interest back in her world, but she’d been here a week and Korra and Asami told her she was beautiful and Mako was obviously flirting with her last night.  Now she was on a boat with a guy who might also be flirting… the whole thing was bizarre and surreal… and really flattering.

She closed her eyes, thinking she could meditate for a little while when three quiet raps sounded on her door.  She was quite certain of who was on the other side, so she simply said, “Come in.”

“Oh, did I interrupt a nap?”

_Open your eyes.  You can’t ignore this now!_

It was him.

She opened her eyes and sat up, swinging her legs over the side and crossing them.  She placed her hands on either side of her body and gripped the edge.  “No, I was just resting.  Am I needed outside?”

He seemed… nervous?  He shoved his hands into the pockets of his cargo cutoffs as he brought his clover green eyes up to meet her gaze.  “Uh, no.  I was actually just wondering if you might want to take a walk with me.”

Tuesday was taken aback, and it must have been noticeable because he recoiled slightly as he said, “I’m sorry, I, uh… I know you don’t know me whatsoever and I’m horrible at talking to beautiful girls, uh, and you are one, so, I keep messing up but my friend told me to just say what I was thinking and my smile might save me.”  He grinned.  _Bloody hell._

Setting her jaw in an attempt to give nothing away to this stunning specimen, she opted to raise her eyebrows instead.  Half a smile crept up on her lips as she said, “It helps a little.”

His long, pin-straight hair brushed his shoulders and fell around his face as he looked down at the floor.  “So does that mean you’ll take a walk with me?” he asked.  How could she say no?

“All right.  Where are we going?  You already gave us a tour,” she said, getting up and walking towards the door, careful not to walk too close to him.  She wasn’t sure of how she’d react.  She felt like a ticking time bomb of sex.

He ended up taking her to the bow in a roundabout way before stopping and leaning against the side.  Tuesday couldn’t see land anywhere anymore, and despite the worry she felt concerning their destination she couldn’t help but enjoy the wind in her hair and the sun on her face.  They hadn’t talked much, and she didn’t mind really.  She was surprisingly comfortable around him. 

“Sorry for the silence; I ask you to walk with me and hardly talk to you.  I’m not generally so quiet.  Being at sea most of the time, I don’t socialize with new people much,” he admitted, his eyes on the horizon.

“I wouldn’t have been able to tell.  You were very polite upon our meeting,” she replied.

He grinned at her bashfully as he confessed, “I suppose I do better in crowds.  And I enjoy being professional for work, you know, so I suppose the uh, personal conversations are harder?”

“I don’t do so well with people either, although I am getting better,” she said.  She smiled at the man as she asked, “What’s your favorite color?”

“Blue, without a doubt.  Something very similar to the color of your eyes, actually,” he began, but Tuesday groaned.

“Come on, man.”  She started to leave, figuring she’d find the rest of her group.

“No, please, I told you, I suck at this.  I’m not feeding you a line,” he stammered.  She stopped and looked him in those captivating eyes.  He was telling her the truth.

“When there’s a storm brewing on the sea- your eyes look like the water.”

She had to lock her knees to keep from swooning on the spot. 

“What’s your favorite color?” he asked her, his voice almost too quiet to hear over the sound of the wind.

“I’ve always had a hard time choosing between blue and green, but if I had to pick one, it would be green.  It’s a color of new growth and beginnings, I suppose,” she answered.

“Where are you from?”

_Oh shit_.

“We found her in a little lake town in the Earth Kingdom when we were searching for new airbenders after Harmonic Convergence,” Asami’s voice answered from behind her.  _Thank the Spirits she was here._   She had to be careful talking to people.  Her secret was one that couldn’t be getting out.  She felt her friend’s arm wrap around her shoulders and pull her close.  Tuesday reciprocated by slipping her arm gently around her friend’s waist.  _That was provocative.  I think I did that on purpose._  

She looked into those bright green eyes and said something she meant.  “I’m so happy you two found me,” she stated with a smile.

Asami grinned back but turned her gaze to Pax.  She did keep her arm around Tuesday, however, much to her delight.  “We just got word our rendezvous is a little farther west than expected.”  She could sense that something was bothering Asami.

“Would you like the helm, Mrs. Sato?” he asked her respectfully. 

“Please, call me Asami.  And although I enjoy steering ships, I’m much better on land and in the air,” she replied. “Would you mind setting the course?  The coordinates are with your first mate.”

“Not at all.  Tuesday, Mrs… Asami,” he chuckled as he bowed and trotted off.

“Something’s wrong,” she said, her eyes trained on her friend’s face.

“Su thinks they may have been followed.  We had planned to arrive at the Fire Nation Capital early tomorrow morning, but it looks like it might be closer to mid-morning now.  We’ve exchanged coordinates between our three ships and are going to keep all contact cut between us from now until we rendezvous.”  Asami sighed as she finished filling her in.  “It was hard to get Korra out of the room so I could talk to her Dad,” she smiled.  “But I managed to keep it a secret that he was coming to join us on this mission.”

Tuesday’s heart melted at the warmth on Asami’s face.  She adored watching them do sweet little things for each other.  Her mind was starting to thrash about with conflicted feelings, so she set her face to a mask and pulled out of the hug.  “Are we still going to spend the first couple of days in the capital to finalize things with the Fire Lord and General Iroh?” she inquired.

“That’s still part of the agenda.  We won’t make contact with the Fire Lord right now; it’s too risky.  Raiko spoke to her before we left.  She knows to send out help if we do not show up by the afternoon,” she said, starting to walk towards a set of stairs on the port side.  Tuesday tagged along, her mind back on the mission.

“I would like to do some research while we’re in the city,” she told Asami.  Korra and the rest of the crew are going to be with the Fire Lord, you’re going to be in meetings, and I figured I could maybe find out more about that rock quarry.”

Asami halted and crossed her arms but then moved one hand to her chin in thought.  “It certainly wouldn’t hurt.  Maybe you could take Wing and Wei with you.  They might learn something.”

“If they want to come, they’re welcome, but I’m not babysitting.”

Asami continued walking but laughed heartily.  “Yeah, if they get to bickering it can be obnoxious, but they’re good guys.”  She turned her gaze to Tuesday and raised an eyebrow.  “So… you were talking to Pax?” she asked.  Her tone was… different… not negative… but interesting.

“Uh…” she started playing with the ends of her hair nervously.  “Yeah.  I guess not long after he finished showing everyone to their cabins he came by mine.  He knocked on the door and I thought it was you guys so I said come in, and there he was asking me if I wanted to take a walk.  We actually barely talked before you joined us.  By the way, great timing.  Thanks for the save.”

“That was luck for sure.  So that’s the story from now on.  We’ll tell everyone so we can all sell the same lie,” she chuckled.  She opened a door to a room that was scarcely decorated but held a large table and several chairs.  Korra was there with Lin and Kya and they had a map spread out between them.

Tuesday settled down next to Kya and the older woman leaned over in her seat.  “Keep your eyes on Lin and Korra,” she spoke so only she could hear.  “You’ll witness one of the most interesting relationships you’ve ever seen in your life.”

Within the hour, Tuesday could see exactly what Kya had been talking about.  In the aforementioned amount of time Korra and Lin had talked calmly for awhile before the two of them started to get a little huffy with each other.  Their voices became a little more heated as the two women remained headstrong that their idea was better than the other’s.  A short but thorough shouting match over the map complete with flailing arms concluded with them awkwardly apologizing to each other before nodding to each other respectfully and coming to the conclusion that a compromise could work.

“They’re some sort of weird mother daughter combo,” Tuesday whispered to Kya, and the waterbender cackled humorously.

“You might not believe this, but that’s the closest thing to a kid Lin will ever want or have.  Deep down, she loves that girl.  Don’t tell Tonraq or Senna, but you could pretty much consider her a Beifong.”


	37. Asami's Surprise

“We should be able to see Su’s ship within the next few minutes,” Asami told Korra, bouncing on the balls of her feet from excitement.  Tonraq’s ship would be the one actually showing up first, but of course her wife didn’t know that.

“So you said Tuesday was walking with that Pax guy?” Korra asked, pursing her lips.

“Yes, Korra.”

She patted her hands on her thighs.  “Was he being nice to her?”

“They were smiling when I walked up, and he was asking her questions about herself.  By the way, we found her when we were searching for new airbenders,” Asami informed her wife.

Korra laughed.  “That story is believable enough,” she admitted.  “Do you think he likes her?”

“Yes, it seems so,” Asami answered truthfully.  She didn’t show it the way Korra did, but she couldn’t help but feel a little jealous even though she knew she had no right to.

Her wife sighed at the answer.  “I have to tell myself what you told me last night when Mako was flirting with her.”

“Me too, Babe.”

Asami looked at her wife’s face in the light of the sunset.  The warm colors made her skin look bronze, and considering her wife was a goddess to her, she found it befitting.  Her eyes matched the color of the water they sailed on.  “I’m not sure I told you yet today that you are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Korra’s cheeks turned a deep, shiny red against the bronze illusion the sunset was creating on her skin before pulling her into her arms.  She returned the embrace wholeheartedly but could still hear Korra’s retort.

“All you need to do to see the most beautiful thing in the whole world is just look into a mirror.”

Korra was horrible at taking compliments even after receiving them all these years.

Asami opened her mouth to playfully argue when Korra’s eyes grew wide.  “There they are!”  She turned her gaze to the horizon and sure enough, a ship had appeared.  A huge grin spread across her face knowing how excited her wife would be in about a half hour.

* * *

 

Asami nodded at Lin and Kya as she nonchalantly drew Korra’s attention away from the approaching boat.  As soon as Korra faced her, Lin and Kya moved to block her view.

“So I have to tell you something,” Asami admitted, doing her best to not smile from excitement.  She had a hard time keeping anything from Korra, especially surprises. 

“Is something wrong?” she inquired, her face immediately morphing into one filled with worry.  Unfortunately their past caused Korra to jump to the worst case scenario more often than not.

Just over Korra’s left shoulder she saw Kya give her a wave, which meant Tonraq had boarded their ship.  She broke out in a huge grin as she said, “Everything’s great.  But you should ask him just to make sure.”  She looked over Korra’s shoulder to give her father-in-law a warm smile.

Korra’s face melted from worry to confusion, and as she looked over her shoulder it turned into one of sheer joy.  “Dad?” she said quietly.  “What are you doing here?”

“While I am still able, I choose to help my daughter whenever I can,” Tonraq answered.

“You have Mom and the Tribe to take care of.  Your responsibility is to them, not the Avatar.”

“Korra,” his deep voice was soft as he enveloped his daughter in his arms, “I did not say I was here to help the Avatar.”

Asami’s eyes pooled with tears, and she couldn’t stop them from spilling over as Korra’s cyan eyes glistened as she looked up at her father, fully understanding that he was here for her, just her, his daughter.  Before she knew it, Korra had pulled her into the embrace with Tonraq.

“You two are so sneaky.  I love you both so much,” Korra sniffled.

“Likewise, kiddo,” Tonraq chuckled, and Asami felt it rumble in his chest.  She considered herself so blessed to be a part of this family.

They pulled out of the embrace and Tonraq made his rounds, clapping Bolin and Lin on their shoulders in greeting and hugging everyone else.  Asami watched as he approached Tuesday, who, as usual, was noticeably nervous.  And Tonraq, as usual, didn’t care, because if he wanted to hug someone, he usually did, but he did cushion the blow for her.  “Ah!  Tuesday!  The Daughter-Saver!” he boomed before sweeping her up into a huge bear hug. 

It was so obvious where Korra got her silliness from, and Asami loved every little bit of it from both of them, no matter how corny.  From the look of things, Tuesday enjoyed her embrace.  Her cheeks were pink but she had a genuine grin on her face.  Korra’s face held a soft smile, one that Asami interpreted as her being completely happy and at peace to see Tonraq being so friendly with the shy new woman. 

In that moment she thought about how much joy it had been bringing them to share their lives with Tuesday, and the real weight of it hit her.  _But now is not the time to think about those things,_ she told herself.  Another ship was heading towards them on the horizon.

* * *

 

Why, why did her eyes immediately follow Tuesday when Pax was around?  Okay, why did her eyes follow Tuesday MORE when Pax was around?  Korra felt Asami thump her knee.  “Stop it,” she whispered. 

Everyone had just gathered into the mess hall as a crowd, Pax and his limited crew included.  Asami had had extensive background checks done on the whole crew when the decision was made to hire a decoy ship for the mission even though they were already on her payroll and had gone through the process before.  She said Pax had jumped at the opportunity for an adventure.  Now the guy was scamming on their girl…

“Korra.”  Asami’s voice was no longer a whisper.  Scolded, she gnawed at the inside of her lip.  She needed to meditate.  She needed to realign her chi.   She needed to beat the sand out of a punching dummy.  She needed to do _something_ , anything that might help her stop feeling jealous like this.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Pax asking Tuesday something.  She nodded and he sat next to her.  Luckily her father’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.

“I hear the festival is going to have more rides and vendors this year.  Mom was thinking about having a little dumpling cart,” he told her.

“She should do it!  Her dumplings are the best,” Korra praised.  “Tuesday made potstickers earlier in the week and they were pretty damn close to Mom’s.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” a warm voice chimed in, and she turned to see stormy blue eyes winking at her and a grin that matched the sound of her voice.  Pax was smiling towards them, and as much as she wanted to not like the guy, he genuinely seemed nice.  _He works for Future Industries, too_ , she reminded herself, and in knowing that she knew the guy had to know his stuff because Asami’s company didn’t hire idiots.

Even she had to admit the guy was handsome.  She was even pretty sure Kya found him attractive.  He and Tuesday would have the most beautiful babies in the world. 

At that thought a short breath rushed from her lips.  She closed her eyes.  Tuesday had as much of a chance of having a new family with this guy as she did if she stayed with them… but he could give her children again.  It wasn’t fair to deny her chances, just like Asami had said.  But something in the back of her mind felt like arguing.

_We could give her children someday, too._

“Korra.”

Her father’s deep voice was near her ear.  “I’ve said your name twice, not including just now,” he told her.  “What’s going on, kid?  You okay?” 

Her father was so awesome for keeping his voice low.  She didn’t want Asami knowing she was still battling her inner little green monster.

She nodded but answered, “Can we take a little walk after dinner?  I…” she sighed, “need advice, I think.”

His eyebrows arched in surprise.  “Of course; you lead whenever and I’ll follow.”

“Thank you.  Love you, Dad.”

She counted his smile lines as he grinned at her.  “I love you too, Korra.”

Finally feeling a little relief knowing she would be able to ask her father about the two women and the man from her memories, Korra finally dug into her food, doing her best not to look for stormy eyes.


	38. A Talk and a Walk

“All right, spill the beans.  What’s troubling you?” her father asked her.  His deep voice was quiet in the late evening air.

She didn’t even know where to begin.  Her mouth opened but nothing came out, so to avoid looking like a fish she closed it.

“Does this have anything to do with Tuesday?”  Wow.  Her father was more intuitive than she previously credited him for.

“Yes.”

“Please don’t tell me she’s trying to get in between you and Asami.  She didn’t seem like that sort of girl,” he said, his voice strained.

A loud, short laugh involuntarily burst out of her.  Oh, the double entendres!  How much of this conversation could she actually bear to have with her father?

Maybe the best way to approach this would be to ask about… “Dad, when I was really young I remember some friends you and Mom had.  I can’t remember their names, but it was a man… and two women.”  Not sure if she should continue or trust in her father’s intelligence to figure out where she was going with this, she remained silent, allowing her statement to linger.

He turned his head towards her, but she didn’t meet his gaze.  Her fingers awkwardly fiddled with a piece of line hanging off the end of a knot.  She felt his eyes study her for a short while before they turned to look at the reflections of the stars in the water.

He sighed.  “The husband’s name is Hai, and the wife is Kira.  What do you remember about them?”

“I remember asking Mom why the two ladies kissed each other but not her… or something like that,” she answered stiffly.

“Their girlfriend’s name is Sierra.”

Okay, so that was confirmed.  “Are relationships like that… wro… strange?  Do they work?”

“How do you feel about them?” he asked her.  The tone of his voice was a curious one.

Korra cleared her throat.  “I… uh… really hadn’t given them any thought,” she paused, “until lately.  Asami and I… well… we…”

“You two have a thing for her.  Once you brought up Kira, Sierra, and Hai I put two and two together.  I’ve noticed the way the both of you look at her.  Is it solely a, uh, physical thing?” he asked somewhat uncomfortably.

“Okay, let’s stop there,” Korra put up her hands.  “Well, I’ll say this- and then we’re leaving that end of the spectrum- the… uh, physical… is there for all three of us but there’s feelings too, but none of us have approached the subject.  And now the captain is flashing his stupid, perfect grin at her and we’re feeling jealous but Asami is keeping her cool about it and I’m not.”  She took a deep breath.  That felt good to get off her chest.

“I see.”

“Do you think it’s wrong?”  Her biggest fear that came out of having this conversation with her father wasn’t what he might tell her, but what he would think of her after finding out the truth.

“Korra, polyamorous relationships do exist in the world, and more so than people realize.  The reason for that is because people in those relationships are often quiet about the nature of it because they’re sometimes persecuted or judged… and to me, that isn’t right.  Your mother and I feel that consensual adult love is good in any form, and considering you remember our friends, with whom we still exchange letters, by the way, you could say we’re accepting of it.”  Tonraq sighed.  “However, you married a woman, one of the most wonderful women in this world- so you already have to deal with diversity and if this gets out, Korra…”

“It’ll be a mess, and it’s a lot of gossip surrounding the Avatar, like we need that.  Believe me when I say Asami and I have talked about this.  We talk about every aspect of it and we share every thought or emotion.  We haven’t really come to a conclusion as to what we’re going to do, but I suppose I wanted to know we weren’t alone in all of this... that there are others,” she confessed.

Her father pulled her close.  “There isn’t anything wrong with either of you, and you know how I feel about Tuesday- she saved one of my girls!  I just urge you to be cautious no matter what you do.  Be a little more aware of where your eyes are.”

She silently thanked the darkness for hiding her blush.  “Oh, Spirits, all right, conversation is over.”

* * *

 

“So you’re one of the new airbenders; that’s so insane!” Pax said, flashing his dimpled grin.  “Did it freak you out when you woke up and it was there all of a sudden?  That’s what happened to a member of my crew, Dane.”

“It was actually discovered during a car accident.”  Wanting to be somewhat evasive without completely lying, Tuesday added, “My friend was driving and a truck almost nailed her in the side, but I blew the car out of the way.”  He didn’t need to know this just happened earlier in the week. 

“I’d say that was a damn good time to discover it,” he offered. 

Tuesday nodded in agreement.  “How about you?” she asked.  “Bender, non-bender?  Doesn’t matter to me either way, I’m just curious.  Asami’s a non-bender and she’s bad ass.”

He chuckled as he shifted a tan, muscular arm through a sweeping motion and brought a ball of water up from the side of the boat.  She couldn’t help but watch in awe as he made a hollow orb out of the ball and floated it in front of the moon.  “I used to do this when I was a kid.  I loved the sea but grew up nowhere near it, so I’d use water like this to make the moon look like it was reflecting off the water instead of it being in the sky.”  He brought the sphere down and lowered it back into the sea.  “I’ve, uh, well, never told anyone that.  You probably think it’s strange.”

“Oh, no, not at all,” she said, a secret smile on her lips.  “I don’t look at much as strange.”  That was one hundred percent truth.  “So you’re a waterbender with green eyes.  I didn’t know that could happen.  I mean, two of my friends are brothers, and their mom was from the Fire Nation and their dad was from the Earth Kingdom, but the earthbending son has green eyes and the firebender has dark amber eyes.”

“I’m the only one I know of,” he admitted, shrugging his broad shoulders.  “My mother’s from the Southern Water Tribe, my father, Omashu, both benders.  I have an older sister who also got Dad’s green eyes, but she’s an earthbender.”

“How old are the two of you, if you don’t mind my asking.”

“She’s twenty-six, twenty-seven?  Twenty-seven.  I’m twenty-three with a birthday coming up in a few months,” he informed her.  “Her name is Rou.  I like her all right,” he said with a chuckle.  “Any siblings for you?”

_It was bound to come up._   “I had an older brother who died several years ago.  His name was Dewey.”  That was all she wanted to say, and she figured she’d steer clear of the deeper stuff if she could.

He understood her silence and did not press her, but he did place a warm hand on her shoulder.  He squeezed gently before removing his hand.  “Words never make sense to me concerning… times like that so, yeah.  Uh… what’s your favorite food?”

Grateful for the subject change, she readily answered.  “Potstickers, sushi, dumplings, noodles, grilled veggies, fish, seafood… I could probably eat the same five or six meals over and over again for the rest of my life,” she admitted. 

“Well we have the same favorite foods.  We should, uh, have… some… together.  Off the boat.  Sometime.”

A shy grin crept up on her lips.  “You’re asking me out to dinner.”

He slid a hand through his long hair and exhaled.  “I am, though not very well.  And it won’t be for awhile… after this job I’ll be gone for another week or two.  But when I come back…”

“Sure.  Why not?”

He beamed his gorgeous grin while looking down at her.  She’d intentionally kept a safe distance from him since they left the mess hall, but he was getting closer now.  The smile left his lips as his green eyes trailed down her face to look at her lips, and her breath caught in her throat as he began to lower his head.


	39. Close

They’d knocked twice with no answer, so Asami pushed the door open to find an empty bed.  “She’s just not here, Babe.”  She turned to her wife and frowned at the small scowl on her lips.

“She must be out with that guy again.”

“He has a name, Korra,” she scolded, defending the man even though the thought of Tuesday out with him did make her jealous.  She sighed heavily.  She shouldn’t keep reprimanding Korra for her jealously if she was feeling it too.  Her wife just handled it differently.  “I’m sorry, Babe.  I shouldn’t scold you.  I understand how you feel.  I thought we were growing close to her too… but maybe we misunderstood.”  Asami closed the door to Tuesday’s cabin and wrapped her wife up in a hug.  “Can we go to our cabin and cuddle?” she whispered near her ear.  She smiled slyly as she watched the goosebumps form on Korra’s bare shoulders.

“Yes, please.  Can we make out?”  Her wife flashed her that charming lop-sided grin and Asami couldn’t help herself- she burst out laughing. 

“I can’t take you anywhere,” she giggled as she planted a kiss on her tan cheek, leaving a light mark of lipstick.  They absentmindedly began walking back towards their cabin.  “So I’m guessing you wanted to talk to Tonraq about their old neighbors?”

“Yes, and guess what?  They still talk to them after all this time, which I think is great.  Dad knows about Tuesday now, too,” Korra confessed. 

Oh boy.  She wondered how that conversation went.  As if her wife was reading her mind she added, “The whole conversation was a little awkward, but I’m really glad we got through it.  He doesn’t look at us any differently.  Oh, and he said he could tell how we felt because of the way we look at her, and that we should watch where our eyes are.”

“Damn it.  I didn’t think we were that obvious, well, you, yes, but not me as much around others,” she defended with a nervous chuckle.  This certainly was no laughing matter.  A lot about Tuesday had to be kept quiet.

“Maybe he said it was just me,” Korra said, shrugging. 

Upon entering their cabin, Korra shed her clothing while she watched.  As much as she wanted to take her wife then and there, making out would be the extent of their fun for tonight… she didn’t particularly like having sex in other people’s beds.  Hotels were fine, but this room belonged to someone personally.  If someone slept in their bedroom while they were away she would hope they wouldn’t screw in their bed.

Pale blue pajamas stood out in contrast against Korra’s dark skin.  She continued to allow herself the luxury of watching her wife just stand there, because that’s all Korra needed to do to be sexy.

“Excuse me ma’am, but would you be so kind as to stop staring at me like I’m a piece of meat?” Korra joked, flopping onto the double bed they’d be sharing for the next who knew how long.

With her eyes set on nothing but ocean blue orbs, she gave a sly grin as she slowly began taking off her articles of clothing one… by… one.  Even as Korra’s gaze began to travel over her body she watched those eyes.  They watched her until she was nude and watched her as she put on her pajamas and crawled into bed and scooted up against her.  Asami noted neither of them shut their eyes until Korra leaned in for a kiss.

Her wife’s lips provided her so many wonderful feelings that her soul sighed every time she kissed her.  Every time those lips made contact with hers she just… dispersed.  She became a million snowflakes blowing in a winter wind, and Korra was the air pushing and pulling and carrying and creating this delicate dance with her.

Korra mumbled against her lips.  “I wonder how long we can make it before one of us taps out.”

“Not long, especially if you keep talking against my lips like that,” she breathed.

Korra growled.  “That voice is fucking dangerous.”

She involuntarily groaned.  “Spirits, I love it when you curse.”

“Okay, I’m the loser,” Korra pulled away quickly, much to her dismay, and settled on the opposite side of the bed.  “How long did we make it… about three minutes?” she grinned.

“That might be a new record,” Asami chuckled.  She jumped as there was a knock on the door.  Korra hopped off the bed and looked through the view hole.  She didn’t say a word before she opened the door to reveal a windswept Tuesday.

Their friend entered the room and Korra shut the door behind her.  “Hey,” she said softly.  “I was, uh, wondering if we were keeping the rotation going while we’re away.  We never clarified and if the bed is too small or you guys think it’s too risky I can go to…”

“We went to see if you wanted to stay with us,” Korra interjected, “but you weren’t there.”  Her voice wasn’t angry; it was sad.  Asami saw Tuesday’s face fall. 

“I’m sorry,” she said, her slate blue eyes resting on the floor.  “Pax asked me if I wanted to take a walk with him and I… said okay.” 

Should they continue to share a bed with her now that she seemed interested in someone else?  Maybe if she knew more of what was going on between them… but Korra beat her to it, although lacking the couth Asami would have used had she been the one tackling the subject.

“Do you like him?”

Tuesday blushed, but she didn’t smile.  Asami stilled as stormy blue eyes looked at her pleadingly.  The woman took a deep breath before tearing her gaze away to look Korra in the eye.  “I don’t know,” she began to fidget with the ends of her curls, “I like talking to him… but I w… he’s not wh… I don’t think that’s what I… want… or need, right now.”

Asami wasn’t exactly sure what was going on in the musician’s brain right now, but she wished she knew.  It was obvious she had wanted to say something else but couldn’t bring herself to do it.  She scooted to the edge of the bed and patted the spot next to her.  “Come on, you,” she said playfully, wanting to keep the mood light.  “It’s your turn for the middle.”

Tuesday smiled at Asami for a moment before turning back to Korra.  The Avatar still hadn’t stopped searching their friend’s face.  It was as if she was looking for some sort of answer.  Tuesday allowed her to examine her face for a moment longer before she took a step forward and wrapped her arms over Korra’s shoulders and pulled her in close.  Asami noticed it took a second for her wife to respond, but she did so by sliding her arms around the waist of the woman embracing her.

“I’m sorry for… whatever I did to make you look so sad,” Tuesday mumbled against Korra’s hair.  She didn’t answer, but Asami saw her arms squeeze the woman tighter.  She felt warmth in her chest she couldn’t recognize and heat everywhere else that she could.  Several seconds later Tuesday pulled out of the embrace and took a step back before turning to address the both of them.  “So, it’s okay if I stay?” she asked softly.

Korra simply nodded while she patted the bed beside her a second time.  Tuesday took off her jacket and hung it on a hook beside the door.  Asami could only hope her look wasn’t a hungry one as she watched their friend slide out of her jeans, her hips swaying provocatively to shimmy them down her defined legs.  She watched her wife’s eyes as she drank in the body in front of her as a plaid flannel joined the jeans on the floor.  It was as if Korra didn’t care if Tuesday noticed she was being watched anymore. 

Korra wanted them to get caught.  If Pax was going after her too, her wife wanted to make sure Tuesday knew he wasn’t the only one.  A sly grin stretched across her lips.  _That’s hot._

Asami braced herself for what was coming.  This bed was considerably smaller than the one they shared at home.  Then again, they didn’t really separate much when they slept anyway.  Tuesday slid into the bed and pushed her back into Asami.  She made sure to exhale slowly as she counted backwards in her head.

That was when Korra did something she didn’t expect… at all.  After turning off the light she climbed on the bed but didn’t turn to place her back against their friend.  In the pale moonlight that illuminated the room she watched as her wife scooted up against Tuesday’s front and slid one arm under her pillow and rested the other across their two bodies. 

This put the newcomer in a very interesting position, she noted.  If she moved her head down much, she’d be resting on Korra’s glorious chest.  If she moved her head up too much, their lips would be really, really close.

_This bed is a land mine._

“Is everyone comfortable?” _Korra… you naughty woman.  I love you._

“Mmhmm,” Tuesday mumbled into Korra’s neck, and Asami grinned as her wife slammed her eyes shut.  “Oh!  I meant to tell you… the other morning… my bad morning… Avalon came to see me.  You’re never going to believe this, but…”

She proceeded to tell them about how the horse Korra had seen was actually a spirit and might be able to come through the portal.  Asami felt the excitement and happiness radiating off of her friend.  She carefully rested her cheek on Tuesday’s pillow, placing her near soft curls that smelled like strawberries and cream.  Her arm found its way to Korra’s waist and she pulled the three of them closer together.

She really hoped Tuesday didn’t have any romantic interest in Pax.

“Needless to say, when we get home,” Asami’s stomach flipped every time she heard that word come from those lips, “I have to take a trip to the portal.  This one might take awhile… I need to go into town and buy some things.  It may take a few days.”

“Why a few days?” Korra inquired.

“I need to buy some equipment and more instruments.  It’s going to be shipped to my parent’s… my… house and then I’ll have to drive it to the portal myself, one load at a time.  And we don’t know how much I’ll be able to bring through before I get fatigued so I may need to camp out another night.  I also have some plants I need to check on, if you two want the next harvest of smoke to come out right.  I know I do,” she chuckled.

“All right, well, we’ll figure that out when we get back.  Right now I don’t want to think about you being gone for several days,” Asami mumbled, eyes drifting shut.

“We could camp out outside the portal,” Korra said softly, also succumbing to her tiredness.

“That’s a good idea.  Tuesday, don’t argue,” she whispered, her mind growing hazy and eventually fading completely into slumber.

* * *

 

The three of them woke slowly and comfortably tangled together.  They didn’t bring it up, but they didn’t move, either.  Little exchanges were made uninhibitedly- tucked tufts of hair, subtle caresses, entwined fingers.  Quite a few actions caused cheeks to flush or breaths to hitch, but none of it was confronted.  In fact, they talked about anything BUT that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since the last post. I'm in the middle of a move and a whirlwind of a life. You guys don't stop reading because I won't stop writing. Love y'all! ('Specially my Budg)


	40. Friendly Competition

Korra had been talking with her father and Lin when Tuesday and Asami strolled up to the group after their morning yoga routine.  Their pleasant morning still fresh in her memory, she smiled at her girls, being careful not to keep her gaze on Tuesday too long.

“How was yoga?” she asked them.  “Boring as usual?”

“Boring and refreshing,” Asami answered, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.  Korra saw her eyes look over her shoulder, so she turned her head.  She turned back quickly.

Pax and his first mate were walking towards them.  Great.

“Good morning,” he greeted, flashing that damned grin.  _Did he always have to look so good?_   “Breakfast will be ready in about half an hour.  In the meantime, well, in the mornings the crew and I usually have a relay race.  Since there are only five of us right now we’re a little short handed, so I was wondering if any of you would like to join in?”

Bolin was the first to speak up.  “I’m in!  Ope?”

“For sure!” Opal grinned.

Wing and Wei joined, and that’s when Korra’s competitive side started to get excited.  _This could be fun._   “I’ll run.”

Asami, Tuesday, Su, Lin and Tonraq ending up joining in to give the group fifteen runners- the number they usually had for their morning race.  Once everyone was standing in a circle, Pax formally reintroduced his first mate.  “Everyone, this is Auden.  He’ll be able to explain this better than I can.”

“Aw shucks, Cap,” he said to Pax, eliciting a few chuckles from the crowd.  “Okay.  We run in three teams of five, relay style with running tags, which just means you start running before your team member gets to you and you tag as you’re taking off.  Pax and I were thinking we could have the three crew members be team captains so they can run first and tell the next runner when to start running so the rest of the team has a better idea of how that works.  They also have no idea how any of you are at running so we feel it’ll be fair.  Does that sound all right with everyone?”

He continued after receiving nods and agreements from everyone.  “Awesome!  So everyone will do one lap around the boat.  We place crates in the center lane to match the obstacles that are naturally part of the boat in the left and right lanes so there’s the same amount of hurdles for each team.  Be wary of jumping over those lines- you get a foot caught in a loop and you’re done for!”

Pax laughed, and Auden shot him a look that told Korra this was something that had happened to him personally.  “Shut it, Cap.  Anyway, that’s the extent of it.  One lap, no intentional physical contact, no bending… oh!  The lines!  We start running at this line, so this is the end line,” he said, pointing to a faint black line on the deck, “but you must tag your teammate by that line,” he pointed to a line about thirty feet away.  “All right, everyone good?  Any questions?”

“I think you covered everything, Auden, thanks,” Pax said, patting Auden on the shoulder.  “All right, some of you guys may have met these three, but just in case you haven’t this is Nika, Dane, and Turuq.  They’ll be our team captains.”

Korra starting bouncing on her toes from excitement.  She ate up this stuff!  She watched as Nika, a tomboyish Northern Water Tribe woman looked through the group before pointing at Tonraq.  Korra did not stifle her laughter as her father puffed out his chest in pride at being the first called.  It was even funnier a second later when another Northern Water Tribe member, the brooding looking guy named Turuq chose Suyin and Korra got what was going on.  They had to have talked amongst themselves and decided to choose an older runner each to keep the race more even.  Korra liked that a lot.  Winning was more gratifying when done fairly. 

Her suspicion was confirmed when the other sailor, Dane, chose Lin.  Korra had never seen hair like his… his hair was almost yellow on the top layer, and not much darker underneath that, like the sun had turned it lighter, and most interestingly it was shoulder length and dreaded.  He seemed to be just a little bit shorter than Tuesday, but he looked fast.  He wore no shirt and it was obvious he was a deckhand.  His skin was dark, but not like hers.  She could turn much darker if she spent more time outside, but this man seemed to be at his darkest, and he almost matched the tone of her skin, and strangely enough you could still see a faint contrast of dots across his cheeks.  He had freckles like Tuesday.  It made her wonder where he was from. 

She was startled out of her thoughts when she heard her name being called by Nika.  She gave the girl a nod as she stood behind her.  Turuq picked Opal and Dane chose Asami.  They really were being even around the board as much as they could be only having physical appearance to go on.  Nika chose Wei and Turuq picked Bolin.  Dane pointed at Wing and Korra got a little worried because she knew Wing was fast. 

Korra high fived Tuesday when she joined them after Nika pointed to her, and together they watched Auden go to Turuq’s team and Pax joined Dane’s.  Everyone huddled with their respective teams to discuss strategy. 

Nika first asked everyone to introduce themselves, which Korra thought was nice.  Asami had some really good people working for her company.  Future Industries proved that if employees were treated properly they worked harder and with pride.

“Pax and Dane are usually on my team.  I’ll tell you now they’re going to be tough to beat.  I can give us a good lead against Dane, but someone really fast is going to need to run against Pax, and I can guarantee you he’ll choose to run last,” Nika informed them.

“I’ll run against him,” Korra offered.  Maybe beating him could take the edge off of some of this jealousy.

Nika grinned.  “I was hoping you’d say that.  I was so happy when I won the coin toss because I knew I had to get the Avatar.”  Korra saw Tuesday grin out of the corner of her eye.  She allowed a small, humble smile to grace her lips at the flattery and mumbled “I’ll do my best” to her team captain.

It seems everyone set up their runners very similarly.  Nika, Dane, and Turuq would be the first leg of the race.  Tonraq, Su and Lin the second, Tuesday, Asami, and Opal third, Wing, Wei, and Bolin fourth and Korra, Pax, and Auden being the last.  Asami gave her a sly grin when their eyes met, as if she knew exactly what Korra was thinking when it came to running against Pax… and she probably did.

Turuq’s team got the inside lane, and Nika’s team took the outside lane while Dane’s took center.  Kya counted down from three and Korra whooped loudly as Nika took off like a missile being launched.  She wasn’t lying when she said she could get a lead on Dane, and the guy was fast.  She and Dane had basically left Turuq behind, and Korra and Wei chuckled as his twin facepalmed himself.

They weren’t able to see the runners at all times, but that only added to the excitement.  When Nika appeared behind them, Tonraq got ready to run, and when she was about twenty feet away, she yelled, “Go!”

He took off and Nika tagged him four feet in front of the second line.  She was beaming at her Dad.  He was running pretty fast for an old man!  Lin started running as Dane called for her to go, and Korra yelled for Tonraq to go faster because the Chief was on her way.  Su followed not far behind. 

Tonraq was doing his best to keep the lead that Nika had given them, but about three quarters of the way she could tell he was getting gassed.  Lin and Su saw this and started to take advantage of it.  By the time they had come around to the line, Su was in the lead with Lin and Tonraq right behind her. 

Korra knew Tuesday was more of an endurance runner than a sprinter, so when she let the other two teams get ahead of her a bit, she knew she was pacing herself for the end of her leg.  Asami was wonderfully long-legged and a regular runner though, so it was likely Wing would be taking off before Wei would.

Opal was starting to catch up around the last curve when Korra saw Tuesday pushing up right behind them, and her speed was on full blast.  By the time the boys took off, all three teams were pretty much neck and neck. 

Wing and Wei were quickly taken over by Bolin, but Korra knew, sadly, that he would run out of steam soon, unless by some miracle he’d gotten faster than he used to be.  She figured the twins were also pacing themselves, and about midway through they passed him… until Wei’s foot got caught on a loose end of line.  Of course it was the very thing Auden had warned them about.

Although he tripped, Korra was amazed to see him double time it to have her taking off only three seconds after Pax and Auden.  Once his hand hit hers, there was only the path in front of her.  She could see now how easily a foot could get caught in the line, especially if you were running near someone else and trying not to run into them.  She minded her feet and picked up her pace.

She cleared Auden well enough, but Pax was tall AND fast.  He made running look effortless.  Korra pumped her arms and widened her stance, hoping to close the gap a little more before they hit the stern.  He must have heard her coming; he started to pull away and Korra cursed.  They still had a quarter of the race to go; she didn’t want to go maximum effort just yet.

For whatever reason Pax turned his head to the side for a split second and it cost him a stride’s lead.  Their final obstacle was approaching and Korra refused to be taken down by a rope.  Her muscles and lungs were burning, but she felt exhilarated.  She would pull it out and beat this guy.

They rounded the last turn to see all the teams jumping and shouting.  Korra gave herself that final push and came up right behind Pax.  She fluidly jumped over a mass of starboard lines right as she heard the sound of a crate hitting the deck.  No way!

Korra didn’t stop for anything.  She booked it all the way to the second line before she enjoyed a little victory jump as the team surrounded her with shouts and pats on the back.  As much as she wanted to completely credit herself with the victory she knew that if Pax hadn’t tripped, she probably wouldn’t have won.

She walked up to him and shook his hand.  He was smiling like he had won, and it was nice to see he wasn’t a sore loser.  Maybe she did like him a little bit after all.  “We both know if you had not tripped you may have won, but you did, so we won,” she told him with a playful smirk.

“I have zero complaints losing to the Avatar,” he said, grinning, dimples and all.


	41. The Priceless Discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life is typically nuts for me, but lately it's been downright bonkers. However, in honor of Turf Wars Part 2's release, I had to make sure a chapter went up for you all. Enjoy!

They arrived at the capital a couple of hours later, and Tuesday hugged Korra and Asami good-bye as they headed off to their respective duties.  Bolin had decided to join Tuesday along with Wing and Wei, and the group took advantage of the city’s public transportation to make their way to the library.

It was obvious the guys were used to the way libraries looked in their world because they dispersed quickly into different areas without a second glance, but Tuesday took a moment to relish what she was seeing.  It looked like someone’s personal library but scaled a hundred times larger.  Plush chairs with footrests were tucked into every corner alongside potted plants and lamps or windows.  Even the chairs at the sturdy, hardwood tables were high-backed and plush.  The lights were bright but soft, unlike the fluorescent lights in every library back home ever.  There were fireplaces on opposite walls of the large, open room, and bookshelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling on either side of them.  Enormous concrete columns with intricate artwork held the massive ceiling, and stairs led to two more floors that were visible from the main floor.

Realizing she had no clue how books were sorted in this world, she walked up to a librarian and asked for help finding books on recent Fire Nation history and current events as well as books pertaining to any and all rock quarries on the islands.  She seemed pleasantly happy to oblige and loaded tons of books onto Tuesday’s claimed table and offered to help her with anything else if she needed her.

She had been fully immersed in her reading for a couple of hours when the guys showed up.  “Hey, we’re a little bored, so if you’re all right with it we’re going to go catch a wrestling match.  You want to meet back here in a couple of hours?” Bolin asked her.  “Or you’re more than welcome to come with us if you want.”

She smiled at the offer but graciously declined.  “I appreciate it guys, but I’m good here.  There’s still plenty I’d like to read.  How about I just meet you back here when your match is over?  If I’m not here I probably just went back to the boat.”

“You sure?  I feel bad leaving you here alone like this,” Bolin said to her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

She reached up to pat his hand.  “I’m a big girl, buddy.  No one will mess with me unless they want to face the wrath of my mad airbending skills,” she told him with a wink.  He squeezed her shoulder before turning back to the twins.  The three of them waved good-bye to her before taking off.

Three hours later all Tuesday had really learned about the metals that were mined from the Fire Nation were usually newer, purer metals considering the islands were basically formed from underwater volcanoes, much like Hawaii back home.  Most of these metals were softer but still fairly sturdy and much lighter.  The only thing in this information that might be useful would be if that explained what that submarine might be made from to make it so fast in the water.  A really strong engine on a light ship could do that, but it was also dangerous… unless there wasn’t an engine at all!  What if metalbenders and waterbenders were moving the ship?  They might even be using both benders and an engine suited for a lighter ship to maintain the stability but supply the speed they needed to stay hidden.  This would be something she’d bring up to the girls later.  It might not be anything at all, but on the flip side it could give them an edge when the time came to catch and infiltrate the enemy vessel.

She sat back in her chair and allowed herself a moment away from books.  She rubbed her eyes and thought about the girls and wondered how their day was going.  A flustered smile accompanied by a light flush graced her face as she thought about the morning they’d spent showing a deeper affection than they ever had before, but a bit of worry seized her when Pax drifted into her thoughts. 

Last night, there was a part of her that really wanted to let him kiss her, but as his lips drew closer she turned her cheek to him.  _He really was a good guy_ , she thought to herself, because even after she’d denied him her lips he kissed her cheek and smiled.  “May I hug you?” he had asked her, and she let him.  His arms felt really good around her- strong but gentle, and as she reciprocated the hug by wrapping her arms around his waist she couldn’t help but appreciate his body, especially considering neither of them had allowed any space to remain between them during the embrace. 

Her body responded to him, that she couldn’t deny.  And that was why she didn’t kiss him.  Her heart was elsewhere, and she didn’t want to lead him on.  She was going to have to tell him that she didn’t want a relationship with him if things started to get heavy again.

Tuesday had been considering what she would say when they returned home to Republic City.  She knew she needed to talk to the girls.  The tension was too much and she obviously didn’t want to initiate anything physical before the talk could happen.  She was dreading it but also excited by the thought of it because then they would at least know and that meant she would know how they felt in return.

Looking at the piles of books in front of her, she grabbed a ledger holding what looked like censuses and began absentmindedly flipping through it.  When she came to the S’s, she nearly fell into the floor when she saw a familiar name.

_Sato!?_

_Could any of these people be related to Asami?_

Something in the back of her mind tugged on her memory as if her subconscious was trying to tell her something.  It took her a moment, but it came to her… Asami’s parents were from the Fire Nation.

She had gotten pretty good at researching genealogy back home- what if she could find enough information to build a family tree for Asami?  She didn’t have her family either, and having her tree as artwork on her back helped her feel a little comfort.  If she could draw a decent enough tree and gather some names, find out more about her family, well, maybe it could bring her friend some comfort also.  She set to work. 

About an hour later she’d found more than she ever thought she would.  She’d been given a piece of parchment and ink by the nice librarian and drawn a tree she was actually proud of.  So many names were on it that it made her feel giddy.  She couldn’t wait to give it to her. 

The boys joined her about twenty minutes later and said they were going for food.  Tuesday again declined their offer for her to join, as she had just found something very surreal… something she could not believe, not until she saw it for herself.  She told them she’d meet them back at the boat if she wasn’t here when they returned.  Forty minutes later she was being given directions to a radio station by the helpful librarian.

The street she needed was about three blocks down according to her source, then she needed to make a left and go another five blocks.  She had a great sense of direction in big cities considering she basically grew up in one, so she went diagonally, counting blocks until she found the radio station.

When she entered, she heard the music being broadcast softly throughout the whole floor, which was typical of radio stations.  She slowly approached the desk, shaking from nerves and excitement.  The young man behind the desk smiled.  “May I help you?”

“Yes.  I’m looking for Mazzi.” she said.  If this guy went to Mazzi and asked if she knew a Tuesday, she’d definitely be shut down.  She had to convince this man she had to see her.  “I’m here about her… distant family.”

He looked at her strangely before picking up one end of a talkie.  “Mazzi, there’s a woman downstairs here to see you.  She says she’s here about distant family?”

The woman was quick to answer.  “I’ll be right down.”

* * *

 

Korra, Tonraq, Kya, Lin and Su were in the conference room when Asami strolled in from her too long day of meetings.  The looks on their faces told her something was awry.  “What’s wrong?” she asked, afraid to hear the answer but needing to know.

“Iroh’s been able to map the submarine, and we think we have its primary location.  The earlier we move the better,” Korra answered softly, leaving her seat at the table to kiss and embrace her wife, and the stress of her work day fell away.  “We’d like to move in the morning.  Are you able to get out of your meetings tomorrow?”

At least there was some good news to share.  “There are no meetings tomorrow.  I’m late tonight because I took care of everything today.  Things are running more smoothly than I imagined, and I have my employees to thank for that.  They handle everything with such urgency.  So, I’m all yours, but I would have been either way because you know there’s no way you’re going off into a fight without me.”

“I’m still hoping it won’t come to a fight,” Korra said, her shoulders slumping.  Asami wrapped her up in her arms.  Her wife hated having to take the physical route.  She was the Avatar, for Spirit’s sake.  All she wanted was peace and balance.

“Unfortunately you know these people don’t see reason,” Lin spoke up.  “Be prepared for anything.”

“I am.  It’s just… disappointing… atrocious... people want to kill me just because I exist.”

“No more of this talk,” Asami interjected.  “Let’s finalize our plans.”  She looked around.  “Is Tuesday still in the city?”

“I suppose so.  We haven’t seen her.  Bo, Wing and Wei left her at the library to eat and when they returned she was gone.  Bolin’s a little worried she wasn’t here when they came back.  I told him I’d go looking for her with him in a couple of hours if she’s not back, but I’m not too worried about her,” Korra admitted.  Asami wasn’t either, really.  Tuesday could hold her own against the two of them well enough, and she wasn’t one to make enemies in the first place.

They spent the next hour finalizing plans.  After dinner they had planned to hold a meeting with all parties to explain everything.  Asami had mixed emotions about how quickly this was happening.  Many other things they’ve faced didn’t come out of nowhere and they had more time to prepare.  This had been shoved in their faces a week ago, right after their honeymoon.  It was a lot to process.

But just as she was thankful for her employees’ efficiency, she had to appreciate the work General Iroh and the Fire Lord had completed for them.  It might possibly shorten their stay and it definitely gave them the advantage.  Suyin and the twins were always quick to join Lin and the Avatar, especially after everything that happened with Kuvira.  Asami always wondered if she agreed to help because she felt guilty about being absent from world issues for so long, but regardless of why she did it, she did it wholeheartedly and with pride.  Having Bolin by their side was a given, and Opal as well, and they had Tuesday now, too.  Honestly, Team Avatar had grown to a number much larger than four.

There was a gentle knock on the door, but before she could reach for the handle, Tuesday’s head popped in.  She grinned when she saw the two of them standing there, and Asami melted a little bit at seeing that gorgeous smile after such a long day.  “Are you two horribly busy?  There’s something I need to show you.”  Tuesday was absolutely beaming.  She wondered what had their friend in such a great mood.

“Yeah, sure,” Korra answered.  She turned to the room.  “We’ll be right back,” she told them, and she and Asami followed their friend out onto the deck.

A woman she had never seen before was standing next to Tuesday, yet something about her felt familiar.  She’s was about Korra’s height with warm, amber eyes so bright they looked like little pools of honey.  She was fair-skinned but sun-kissed, and her long, straight black hair was worn loose and stylishly kept out of her face by a single braid that started on one side of her head and crossed the back of it diagonally.  The woman was smiling and staring at her, and Asami was beginning to wonder if Tuesday was trying to bring a crazy woman home.

“Korra, Asami, I’d like you to meet Mazzi,” their friend said, the huge smile still plastered to her face.  She politely bowed, and Korra followed.  Her eyes narrowed out of intrigue as she looked at their friend.  What was going on here?

“Asami,” Tuesday said slowly, “Today… at the library, I did a little research.  There’s something I want to show you, but first you should know that Mazzi is your cousin.”


	42. The Meeting

After she got over the initial shock of Tuesday’s statement, she had nearly burst into tears.  Luckily she was trained to keep her emotions in check for the most part and only two or three tears managed to sneak their way out of her eyes.  More pooled and threatened to spill over when she realized Mazzi’s eyes were brimming with their own tears, but her smile never left her face.  Instinctively she stepped forward and hugged the stranger.

_She’s my cousin._

Asami looked at Korra, whose hand was still covering her wide open mouth.  Those ocean blue eyes glistened with shock, joy, and tears.  In fact, there wasn’t a dry eye among them.

After releasing her cousin- _cousin!_ \- she turned to Tuesday.

Their friend stood there wearing the grin that shifted her from beautiful into stunning.

_Oh, Tuesday._

Asami pulled the woman into a fierce hug and burrowed her face in her curls.  The scent of strawberries and books flooded her senses, and her chest clenched with emotion.  Pulling back to look at Tuesday, the urge to kiss her was stronger than it had ever been.  That couldn’t happen right here or right now, but it was going to happen.

She opted for her cheek instead, marking her with red lipstick.  She didn’t give a damn who saw it, either.

Reluctantly she let go of Tuesday.  “Thank you… but… how?” was all she could force from her lips.

Tuesday grinned widely.  “That’s what I want to show you.  Where can we go to lay this flat?” she asked as she pulled a rolled up piece of parchment from her satchel.

Asami nodded to the conference room.  “In here.”  She turned to Mazzi.  “Please, forgive me, I’m still in shock, but it’s so wonderful to meet you,” she said somewhat awkwardly.  “I’m not sure if Tuesday told you, but I thought I didn’t have any family left.”

“She did tell me,” the woman answered, and Asami got to hear her voice for the first time.  It was soft and warm, just like her eyes.  “This was a surprise for me too, because I don’t have any family left either.  My mother passed away two years ago and Dad’s been gone seventeen years now.  I was an only child.”

Tuesday was practically bouncing with excitement.  Korra noticed and spoke for the first time since they’d laid eyes on Mazzi.  “I think my bounciness has rubbed off on this one.”  Asami giggled as Tuesday couldn’t contain herself anymore and went into the conference room, holding the door open for the rest of them.

As their friend walked to the table, she greeted everyone in the room.  Their eyes left her and landed on the stranger.  Asami was proud to do the introductions, but she wasn’t exactly sure how to begin, so she just cut right to the chase.  “Today, when Tuesday was in the city, she discovered I have a cousin.  This is Mazzi.”  The woman smiled shyly and gave them all a wave.  “Mazzi, I’d like you to meet Korra’s father and chief of the Southern Water Tribe, Tonraq, Republic City’s Chief of Police Lin Beifong, her sister and matriarch of the Metal Clan, Suyin Beifong, and master healer and daughter of Avatar Aang, Kya.  And I’m not sure how much Tuesday has shared with you, but Korra is the Avatar, and she’s also my wife.”

“When she showed me what she’s about to show you, I recognized your name.  Everyone knows about Future Industries.  I’m so proud to meet you and the Avatar and it’s an honor to meet all of you,” she said.  Asami really enjoyed her voice- it was warm and confident. 

Tuesday had spread the parchment out on the table, and Asami leaned over and gasped.  It was a family tree very much like the one on the artist’s back.  Tuesday pulled a chair out for her, and as she sat she moved the tree in front of her. 

It was remarkable… she’d gone back four generations on her father’s side.  Asami was certain that Hiroshi hadn’t even known this information about his family.  Her grandfather’s name was Delun Sato… wow.  And before he left the Fire Nation for Republic City…

He had fathered a daughter with another woman.  Zuri.  No Sato.  “Tuesday… Zuri was Delun’s daughter, right?  Is there a reason the Sato name isn’t there?”

Tuesday briefly glanced at Mazzi before answering.  “Zuri was put up for adoption.  The only reason I was able to find this information is because she’s… passed on.”  Asami looked from Tuesday to Mazzi, and she looked down at Zuri’s name again.  Underneath it on an extended branch was Mazzi’s name.

“Zuri was your mother, and my aunt.  I’m so sorry she’s not with you anymore,” Asami said softly.  She rolled up the family tree; as beautiful and touching as it was, she’d seen enough of it for tonight.  Tuesday had done her mother’s side of the family as well, and she needed to wait to look over that one.  Right now she wanted to talk with her cousin for awhile.

* * *

 

After dinner Tuesday stood on the portside bow overlooking the ocean.  There was just enough light left in the sky to make out the horizon.  She smiled as she heard laughter and turned her head to the right to look upon its source.  Asami and Mazzi had talked all through dinner and had been out here the last fifteen minutes or so chatting up a storm.  This was exactly what she’d hoped for when she discovered information about Mazzi in the library. 

She’d learned they’d be moving against the Red Lotus in the morning.  She was more than a little anxious so she was ready for the meeting that was happening shortly.  The more she knew the more relaxed she would be.

Tuesday jumped slightly as she felt a warm hand slide across her shoulders.  She’d recognize anywhere the hand that was the first to touch her after years without physical contact.  Instinctively she laid her head on Korra’s shoulder and wrapped an arm around her waist.  She could feel Korra’s impressive arm muscles ripple against her as she pulled her closer, and she could only hope her friend couldn’t hear or feel her heart’s sudden pounding. 

“What you did today,” she began, her voice just above a whisper, “I’m never going to forget it, and I know Asami won’t either.  You gave her something she thought she’d lost.  And you did the same thing for her cousin… Tuesday, you’re just… remarkably kind.  You’re incredible. ”

Tuesday lifted her head to speak, but words were difficult to form due to the proximity of Korra’s lips.  It took her several seconds of concentration to find her voice.  “I’m not sure about the incredible part, but thank you, really.  I just came across the right information at the right time, and it was easy to execute from there,” she explained.

“You and I both need to get better at accepting compliments, otherwise Asami is going to tackle us both,” Korra told her. 

 _Don’t do it.  Don’t do it._   “Sounds promising.”  _Ahhh, fuck.  I did it._

Korra chuckled… nervously?  Tuesday was still trying to figure it out a few seconds later when the warm hand on her shoulder tightened and the Avatar’s strong fingers dug into her.  She fought a battle with the moan that wanted out of her mouth, but she won.  _You did that to yourself, asshole, and you still don’t know what to make of that laugh she gave you._

Approaching footsteps pulled them apart.  Their heads turned simultaneously in the direction of the sound.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation, girls, but we’re starting to convene,” Tonraq said quietly.  Together they turned to face him, and he wrapped an arm around each of them.  It was easy for Tuesday to see from where Korra inherited her warmth and affection.  “Shall I fetch Asami or would you prefer to do it?”

“We’ll go get her, Dad.  We’ll be there in five minutes.” 

Tonraq released them and walked towards the conference room.  She was glad she’d included her to go get Asami.  She didn’t really want to walk in there with anyone else. 

Asami beamed at them as they approached, and Mazzi’s eyes were sparkling, complete with a matching smile.  Korra wrapped her arm around Asami’s waist as they approached.  “Hey Mazzi,” Korra said, greeting the woman with a smile then receiving one in return.  “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but our meeting is about to start.”

Tuesday felt the disappointment that appeared on Asami’s face.  She faced her cousin, and with looking at the two of them standing so closely together she could see the family resemblance.  It made her smile in spite of the moment.  “I have to go, but can we come see you in a day or two?  I can’t give you a time and it may be a little longer than two days, but we will not leave without seeing you again,” Asami stated with conviction. 

“Absolutely,” she answered, pulling a small pad of paper from her bag along with something small Tuesday didn’t quite see.  “Here’s my address.  I’m off on Sunday, but any other day I’m at the station until six.  If it’s the evening and I’m not home, here’s a spare key.  Please let yourself in if you wish to wait for me.  I’m never out very late,” she explained, handing her the piece of paper and key.  “I can’t tell you how wonderful it has been to meet you.  I hope I get to see you all soon,” she said before pulling Asami in for a hug.  Tuesday grinned and saw Korra’s smile out of the corner of her eye.

When Mazzi released Asami, she rounded on her, wrapping her arms around her and squeezing before pulling back.  “Thank you.  Thank you for being such an awesome friend to my… cousin,” she beamed, looking at Asami whose smile matched the one on her newfound kin’s face.  “And thank you from me.  Asami isn’t the only person you gave a gift to today.”

 Mazzi bowed to Korra but Korra said, “psshh” and pulled Mazzi into a quick hug.  “We’re family now!” she exclaimed to everyone’s amusement.

Giving Asami one last short embrace, Mazzi headed towards the docks.  They watched her until she was swallowed by the dark. 

When they entered the conference room, nearly every eye turned towards them.  Tuesday was grateful that they returned to their previous conversations just as quickly.  Korra affectionately rubbed her back before leaving to take her seat between Lin and her father, and Asami gave her another kiss on her cheek, right where she’d put the last one.  She chuckled quietly to herself as she grabbed a seat in between Bolin and Kya.

“Looks like someone likes you a lot,” the waterbender whispered.  Her hand automatically flew up to her cheek.  Tuesday was proud of the lipstick mark on her cheek, so she just grinned.

“Two guesses who, but the shade sort of gives it away,” she retorted.  _Ah, wishful thinking._   “But nah, it was just her way of saying thank you… for finding Mazzi and all I guess.”

The look Kya gave her made her feel like the woman had a secret.  Her heart skipped a beat.  Did she know something about… them?  She could just ask… but not now.  Korra and Lin were standing up and the room was growing quiet.

Knowing they all might be there for awhile, the two of them wasted no time getting to business. Cohesively they went through every detail of what they knew, what they were looking for, what to do in the event of this and what to do in case of that, where they were to rendezvous if the submarine exploded.  Needless to say it was the most interesting meeting Tuesday had ever attended.

“We’re all entering the ship together, but we’re going to split everyone into teams so we can branch out if we need to,” Korra informed them.

“We’ll single file in the order I am about to call.  Please remember the person in front of and behind you.  Team one will be Korra, Bolin, Wei, and Opal.  Team two will consist of myself, Tonraq, and Tuesday.  Su, Kya, Wing and Asami will be Team three,” Lin announced.  “We made sure to place a waterbender in each team in case we have to split up and things go amiss inside the submarine.”

They continued to go through the plans of execution which would ultimately lead to a showdown between Korra and this lavabender son of a previous Red Lotus member who had basically committed suicide by collapsing a cavern down on himself in an attempt to take out Mako and Bolin.  _Maybe the son will be just as bright_ , Tuesday hoped.  The main goal was for as many of team one and two to fight off and capture as many members as possible, especially the son, while team three went in search of the source that powered the submarine so they could gain control. 

After two long hours, the meeting drew to a close.  Everyone seemed to be sharing the same moods- anxious and slightly perturbed but raring to go.  Something Korra had said to them resonated through her; she had said that bringing peace to the world was a full time job.  Tuesday was thankful her friend knew how to let loose when she wasn’t working.  She recalls that for the longest time it wasn’t like that for them.

The room slowly emptied leaving the three of them behind.  Tuesday had been lost in her thoughts so she didn’t realize this until Korra closed the door behind the last person.  Suddenly feeling very nervous, she stood, not sure of what to do with herself.  Nervousness quickly changed to something else when they both closed the space between them and pulled her into a hug.

No words were spoken for the longest time.  She was afraid to say anything that could ruin this moment… the three of them standing there, arms around each other tightly, heads resting on each other.  There was tightness in her chest; she struggled to find the word she would use to describe the feeling.

Bittersweet.  If she could open her mouth maybe it wouldn’t be that way anymore.  _Why wait until we’re home?  I may not live through tomorrow._   She took a deep breath. 

There was a knock on the door.  It startled them enough to where they all jumped.  Korra looked irritated while Asami answered the door. 

It was Pax.

“I hope I’m not interrupting; I wasn’t sure if anyone was still in here.  I was doing a walk around before taking the helm for a little while,” he explained.

“That’s okay, Pax,” Asami said.  “We were just leaving.”  With that, Korra and Tuesday stepped through the door, Asami following and pulling the door closed behind her after extinguishing the light. 

She turned with Korra and Asami as they started to head towards the cabins, but she froze when Pax said her name.  She wasn’t the only one- her friends had halted, too.

She turned to face him.  Honestly, she didn’t want to look at him.  She didn’t want to be distracted by him.  It wasn’t fair to him.  But she wasn’t going to ignore him.  He looked nervous as he spoke.  “Uh, could I talk to you for a minute?”

She may as well get this over with now.  When she turned to face her girls, they nodded at her before turning away.  She didn’t even need to ask.  Nodding at Pax, they started to walk towards the bow. 

“I know you have to be up early, so I just wanted to catch you before you went to bed,” he told her as they walked.  “I have no idea what you guys have to do tomorrow, but you’re with the Avatar, so I’m sure it’s no light duty.  I just wanted to tell you to be careful.”

They had stopped at the bow.  She steeled herself.  This wasn’t going to be easy.


	43. Well...

“Korra, this is wrong.  How would you feel if someone was spying on you?” Asami fussed at her wife as well as she could at a whisper.  After Pax and Tuesday had started walking toward the bow, Korra had taken it upon herself to follow them in the shadows.  Asami followed her, not sure if she wanted to stop her but feeling like she should.

“I know it’s wrong.  I don’t know why I feel the need to do this,” Korra whispered back.  “Ugh!  I hate feeling like this.”

They fell silent for a few moments, and she knew Korra was trying to hear what they were talking about, because she was too, though rather guiltily.

“It’s our own fault, you know.  If we’d have said something to her and she was interested she might not even be talking to him right now,” Asami stated quietly. 

Korra kept her eyes on Tuesday as she spoke.  Asami could tell from Pax’s body language how much he was into her.  “I’m already kicking myself for that.  When she comes to our room tonight,” her wife paused, turning to look in her direction considering she couldn’t see her face, “I want to tell her.  I’m tired of beating around bush over this.  How do you feel about it?”

Asami knew how she felt without hesitation.  “I’m crazy about her.  I feel very deeply for her.  I’m not sure what it means, but I know that I want her.  You?”

“I’ve only ever wanted one person more than I want her,” Korra answered.  Asami felt her wife’s warm hand tenderly caress her cheek.   “Maybe I’m selfish for wanting you both, but if you both want me too, is that really a bad thing?”

Oh no.  Asami thought it could be a very good thing, but that was considering only the physicality of the situation.  There was the emotional part to face. 

She could very easily admit to herself that she cared about Tuesday more than just platonically, but she didn’t have a definition for how she felt.  With Korra, she felt sure.  There was no question at all who she wanted to spend her life with.  She would be married to Korra until her dying day.  She wanted children with Korra.  Their relationship was hard won.  They’d fought side by side, coming out victorious each time and they’d seen each other at their best and their worst.  There was nothing in this world more right.  They were soulmates.

With Tuesday, the pull was different.  At first, Asami just felt a strong desire to help her, but that quickly fell into wanting to be her friend because of how selfless and sweet she was, not to mention beautifully talented.  She and Korra had both been sexually attracted to her from day one, too, although the first day or two they didn’t recognize it as that even though in hindsight she knew that’s exactly what it was.  The comfort and happiness she felt when the three of them were together could only be measured to how she felt when she was with Korra.  Her wife lacked nothing whatsoever, but she had to admit that having Tuesday with them amplified life for her.

“Do you feel like Tuesday enhances our life?  I’m not saying things were dull beforehand; our lives have been wonderful together so I don’t want you to think negatively, but…”

Korra cut her off, “I know exactly what you’re saying.  There wasn’t anything missing from our lives until we found her, and now that’s she’s here, if she left, we’d be missing her.  Is that what you meant?”

“Yes,” she whispered.  “You feel the same way?  I just want to make sure.”

“I do feel the same way, and I am sure.”

She felt absolutely radiant.  They were going to tell her!  It was risky, everything about it.  She could reject them.  Word could get out about it.  Tuesday might leave someday.  They might have to leave someday.  It was a situational rollercoaster, but it was a ride they were willing to take.

Asami reached for her wife in the dark and planted a kiss on her warm lips.  She smiled against them as they hummed in pleasure.  “I love you, Korra.  No matter what, it’s you and me, always.  If you ever feel like we shouldn’t continue, please tell me.”

“I promise I will, and you do the same,” she said, still close enough that Asami could feel her breath on her lips.  “No one in this world loves anyone as much as I love you.”

“I’d like to argue with that, because no one could possibly love anyone more than I love you.  But why don’t we leave now?  We’ll go back to our cabin and when she comes for the night, we’ll talk to her,” Asami suggested.

“Okay,” Korra agreed.

 Asami turned to find Tuesday in the shadows, and what she saw caused her heart to fall into her feet.

Pax had his lips on hers.  He was kissing her.  As she witnessed it, he pulled away but wrapped her in his arms.  She heard Tuesday’s beautiful laugh, and she closed her eyes. 

He’d beat them to it.  He had kissed her.

Feeling defeated, she turned to face her wife, but all she could see in the dark was disappearing feet.  She quietly took off after Korra.  It wouldn’t do well to call out to her right now, so she just followed her to the cabin.

It was obvious she’d seen what happened.  Korra slung open their cabin door and stomped into the room.  Asami closed the door behind them and turned to watch her wife pace angrily for a moment.  She knew the best thing she could do right now was be quiet and let her work out what she was feeling.  A bittersweet smile pulled at her lips; she and her wife expressed their emotions so differently.

“How could she let him kiss her?” Korra finally asked.  “Ugh, no, how could she have known we like her because we were too afraid to say anything!  There were so many chances we passed up.”

She sat on the edge of their bed, and Asami sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.  “We shouldn’t be mad… not at her, or him, or ourselves… he’s a good guy.  Maybe he’ll make her really happy, and we still have her as a friend.”

“Trust me, the only reason the guy doesn’t have a busted nose is because he’s too pretty… and I like him too much.  And he works for you.  And she seems to like him.”  Korra exhaled deeply.  “I just wish we would have spoken up.  I feel like we missed out on something.”

“I do too,” she agreed.  “It’s going to be really hard to not look at her the way we have.  It’s going to be hard to have her in the bed with us,” she realized aloud.

“Maybe… maybe we should tell her she will have to stay in her room,” Korra whispered.  “It’s not what I want but it may help us get over… whatever this is… was.”

She hated to admit it, but it would help.  “You’re right.  If we do it now, do it quickly, maybe it won’t hurt as badly.  We could just go to bed.  If she comes to the door, we don’t have to answer.”

“That isn’t mean?” Korra asked.

“I don’t think so.  She’ll just think we went to bed this way.  If we tell her no tonight, it might distract her tomorrow.  We don’t want that to happen for so many reasons,” Asami stated.

“Okay, yeah,” Korra said, a blank expression on her face.  She stood and undressed with impassivity. 

She followed suit, undressing quickly before turning to her bag to grab pajamas.  As luck would have it, Tuesday’s Berklee t-shirt was sitting right on top.  Tentatively she reached for it, grabbing the soft material and turning to look at Korra.  Her expression had changed, and she looked as sad as Asami felt. 

Asami put on the t-shirt and turned off the light.  They climbed into the bed silently.  Korra wrapped her arms around her and pulled her flush to her body. 

“The t-shirt smells like her,” Korra whispered.

“That’s why I put it on,” Asami whispered back.

“I’m glad we’re never going to have to miss each other,” Korra said softly.

“Me too, Korra.  I love you.”

If Tuesday knocked, they didn’t hear it.


	44. A Matter of Misunderstanding

She made small talk with Pax as he asked about her day, but she was secretly using the time to find the words she needed to reject this really nice, really handsome man.

“You seem distracted.”  _Damn it._

“And you are an astute observer,” she returned.  Sighing, she added, “I am distracted.  There’s a lot going on.”  _How do you do this without sounding like a jack ass?_

“Well let’s take your mind off things.  What do you love more than anything?” he asked, flashing that gorgeous, dimpled grin.  _Your smile does NOT take my mind off things!_   She opted to look at her hands in the moonlight.

“Music… it’s a universal language,” she answered.

“Of course!  I should have known that would be your answer, although,” he paused, and she looked up at him, “I thought you might say my boss and the Avatar, too.”

_What.  What?_

“What?”

He chuckled deeply.  “It’s like you said, I’m an astute observer.  I sort of figured it out from the way you guys look at each other.  Plus you have my boss’s lipstick on your cheek.”

_Shit.  Fuck.  FUCK!_   “Pax, please, for the love of _(there’s no God here, Tuesday)_ … Spirits, please promise me you won’t say a single word to ANYONE about this.  This can’t get out.”

“Oh don’t worry.  We had to sign non-disclosure agreements when we accepted the job for this mission,” Pax informed her, and she felt the weight fall off her chest.  “I love my job way too much to screw it up.  Besides, I wouldn’t tell anyone anyway.  I’m not that sort of person.  I have secrets, too.  You’re… well, you’re not the only one who sits on the fence.”

It took her a second, but…

“You’re bisexual?” she was very surprised and ecstatic at the same time.  “That’s so awesome!  And really hot, too,” she admitted.

“Let’s not change the subject here,” Pax scolded.  “So are you and Korra and Asami a thing?”

“No, but… I like them… a lot.  I’m not sure if they feel the same way,” she confessed to him.  “And how would I even approach them about it?  I know they watch me sometimes, but… I’m just not sure they’re looking at me that way.”

“Well, all you have to do is ask.  Worst they could do is say no.  And if they do, I’m still here,” he said, his statement tapering off shyly.  “But anyone would be a fool to let you pass by.”

_This guy._   “I’m a fool for passing you up.  If I’d have met you some other way, under different circumstances, this probably wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

“Aw well don’t tell me that,” he grinned, rolling his eyes.  His gaze wandered down her face.  “I never even got a chance to kiss those lips.  I’ve never kissed anyone with a lip ring before.”

It was her turn to roll her eyes.  She playfully shoved him, and his grin widened.  “I should get to the helm, but keep in mind I’m an open kind of guy.  I don’t mind if you have girlfriends; I’m at sea most of the time.  Maybe they wouldn’t mind if you had a boyfriend when he was docked.”

Could she do that?  It was tempting.  He was tempting.  It was also just way too much to process right now.

“I have no answer for you,” she mumbled.  Her eyes would not leave his grin, no matter how hard she tried.

“You’re killing me,” he said.  “You keep looking at my lips, and it makes me think you want to kiss me.  I tried last night but I got your cheek instead, but at least now I’ve figured out why, but you’re still doing it.”

“I didn’t want to lead you on,” she said, thankful for the night that was hiding her blushes.  “And I do want to kiss you, but I’m just… my mind…”  She couldn’t even make a complete sentence right now.

“I don’t want to be a pushy guy, but if I may make a suggestion,” he paused, and she nodded as permission for him to continue, “I need to go, you have to go, I want to kiss you, and you want to kiss me.  Your mind is hectic, so I don’t want to make things more complicated for you, so how about a little kiss and a hug?” he offered, his handsome face as winning as ever.  He HAD to know how much he got away with using his good looks.

He was getting away with this.  “All right,” she agreed.  “Why not?”

This time when he came closer, she didn’t pull away.  His lips were warm and soft, and they felt really nice… but her mind was elsewhere.   He pulled away and wrapped his arms around her.  “That wasn’t so bad, was it?  Believe it or not, I haven’t kissed many people.”

She laughed out loud.  “You’ve got to be kidding.  You’re a really sweet guy and you’re gorgeous.”

“I’m also a socially awkward workaholic who never wants to get married,” he said.

“Really?  How come?”  She was the same way, but she was curious to know why he felt that way.

“I’m a workaholic because I’m lucky enough to have a job I love.  I never want to get married because my parents were miserable but they stayed married because they felt like it was what society expected of them.  I would have rather had them be divorced than listen to the constant fighting we did growing up,” Pax shared. 

“Not all marriages are like that.  Korra and Asami have a beautiful marriage.  My parents were great together.”  _Fuck, change the subject._   “That being said, I don’t have a desire to get married either, but that’s because I just feel like I’d be satisfied with someone loving me unconditionally.  I don’t need a token, I just want love and affection and conversation.”  _Among other things._   Her mind strayed to her girls.  She wanted to go to them.

“Maybe I’ll change my mind someday.  Who knows?  I’m a free spirit,” he said, and she chuckled.  He would certainly be considered a hippie back home, just as she had been.  He was a kindred soul.  He pulled her into another hug and kissed the top of her head.  “I better get going.  Please don’t forget what I said.  I’ll probably never have the nerve to bring it up again,” he confessed, a smile on his lips.

“I’ll keep it in mind.  Thank you, Pax, for being so awesome about everything.  If I didn’t already…”

“I know!  Don’t remind me!”

She laughed again, shaking her head.  “Good night.  I’ll see you soon.”  She turned and headed towards the cabins.

* * *

 

*Tap tap tap*

She didn’t want to knock loudly.  It was late and she didn’t want to risk anyone seeing her here.

*Tap tap tap tap*

_They must be asleep.  I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if I let myself in.  I can think of a great way to wake them up_ , she thought, her mind wandering to the thought of her lips on theirs.  _Not tonight, but soon._

She quietly turned the knob.  Her heart sank when she realized it was locked.  She tried to shake off the feeling.  Maybe they’d wanted some time together.  She certainly couldn’t blame them for that. 

Even though she’d talked herself into believing everything was okay, she still turned from their door heavy-hearted.  Her feet carried her to her room, and her arms undressed her.  Her hands pulled back the covers and her body worked its way into the bed.  Her eyes closed themselves, but her mind just would not shut up.

* * *

 

Korra felt like such an asshole.

When she and Asami entered the hall for breakfast, her eyes immediately searched for and found Tuesday.  Her heart sank at the sight of her.  She was sitting alone at a small table against the farthest wall, her legs pulled up into her chest, her arms wrapped around them.  The position reminded Korra of the night they’d found her sobbing in her sleep.  It’s what she did when she was hurting.

It tore her apart knowing they were probably the cause of that, but it was nothing compared to the hurt she felt when her head turned and bloodshot eyes stared back at her.  Her stormy blue eyes looked tortured and exhausted, matching the eyes of the ghost girl they had met in the Spirit World a week ago.  The dark circles under her eyes told Korra she hadn’t slept.  Tuesday turned her gaze away from them, settling her head back on her knees.

In front of her on the table sat a small plate of food that looked as though it hadn’t been touched, almost as if she’d fixed it knowing she needed to eat but couldn’t bring herself to.  For the first time since they’d walked into the room, Asami spoke.

“We shouldn’t just stand and stare.  We’ll draw attention,” she whispered.  “I want to go to her too, but we should wait.”

Knowing it was the truth, Korra began making her way towards the line.  If anything, they needed to smooth things over enough to get through this mission.  They’d deal with the awkwardness of how things were now after they were done risking their lives.

“I think we should sit with her… I feel we should try to talk to her.  I don’t want her mind messed up for this,” Korra said.  “Plus it might be suspicious if we don’t, especially with her looking so rough.”  Her voice cracked as she swallowed back tears.  Asami’s own eyes welled with them as she took her wife’s hand.

“Okay.  Are we just going to put on a straight face and pretend we don’t know what’s wrong?  I mean we might BE wrong.  What if Pax did something?” she asked.

“Then I’ll break his teeth,” Korra responded as Asami’s words brought forth a surge of anger, but she stopped to redirect it towards herself.  “But it wasn’t him.  It’s obvious it’s us that hurt her… I can just see it in her eyes.  If she did try to come to bed last night, I don’t get it.  Why would she come to our room if she’s seeing him now?”  She asked quietly.

“I don’t know, but those are things we’re going to need to worry about later.  We have to calm our minds.  We have to be thinking clearly today,” Asami said, though Korra could see the pain in her eyes.

After they’d fixed their plates, they looked at each other for reassurance before turning to join Tuesday only to find she was gone.  She’d left when they weren’t looking.  For what felt like the millionth time today, Korra’s chest ached. 

* * *

 

Tuesday was really, really good at being evasive.  All morning they’d tried to find her with no success.  They even sought out Pax to see if he knew where she was, but he informed them he hadn’t seen her since last night.  Hearing the words ‘last night’ come out of his mouth desperately made Korra want to hate him, but she just couldn’t.

The ship had been working its way around the islands for the last couple of hours, and soon they would be arriving at the dock closest to the area the lavabender had last been seen and where the submarine was believed to be.  Korra’s eyes were on the horizon as she stood next to her father and her wife.  Her mind was on the task at hand but she couldn’t lie to herself and say she wasn’t thinking about their friend, too.

Asami’s elbow nudged her, pulling her from her thoughts.  She turned to find bright green eyes looking back and forth between her and to her right, so she took her wife’s hint and followed her gaze.

Tuesday was there.  She was walking with Kya, but she still looked awful, even though Korra could tell she was attempting to smile for the waterbender.  Kya wasn’t fooled.  Knowing her, she was probably trying to keep the airbender’s mind occupied.  Not wanting them to notice her staring, she looked back at her wife.  Asami’s eyes had glassed over with tears again, and she was regulating her breathing to calm herself.  Korra wrapped her arm around her and pulled her close.

“This will all work out.  We’ll figure it out.  Even if…” _we have to stay just friends,_ she wanted to say, “things won’t quite be the same, but she’s not going anywhere.  We will make sure she knows how much we want her in our lives.  Let’s get through today first, though.”


	45. The Face in the Cliff

Kya walked up to her at dawn and wrapped a fur around her shoulders.  She hadn’t even realized she was shivering.  She couldn’t remember how long she’d been staring at the horizon, but she knew she’d watched the sun come up.

“Tuesday, you shouldn’t worry too much,” Kya had told her.  “We’ve gotten out of worse things than this, and we have the upper hand this time.”

She just nodded.  She couldn’t tell the woman what was really bothering her.  What point did it make?  Something had eaten at her all night, telling her something had shifted between her and the women she loved.  And she did love them.  She had tried to deny what it was but resistance was futile. 

And even though Pax would be the easiest road to take- he was sweet and gorgeous and open-minded- she didn’t want to take the easy road.  She’d never been the type of woman that took the easy road.  She could shove lust aside, but she couldn’t ignore what her heart was telling her.

She had thought they were looking at her the way she looked at them, but perhaps she was wrong.  It wouldn’t be the first time. 

“Would you like to accompany me to breakfast?” Kya asked, holding out her arm as if she knew the younger woman needed support.

“Okay.”  She’d been so lost in her thoughts she wasn’t sure how long Kya had just stood there with her.  She realized she’d stopped shivering.  “Thank you for the warmth,” she said softly, taking the underside of the older woman’s arm.

“No problem.”  They walked in silence for a few moments before Kya asked her, “Is there anything you’d like to talk about?  You seem troubled beyond what we’re facing today.”

Again she got the feeling Kya knew more than she was letting on.  Maybe she wanted Tuesday to be the one to speak up before she’d say anything.  She remembered just yesterday thinking she could ask Kya about Korra and Asami, but if she was wrong, and she probably was, she’d look like an idiot.

“No, thank you.  I just had a rough night’s sleep,” she mumbled.  She was grateful the woman wasn’t pushy.  They walked in silence the rest of the way to breakfast. 

She opted to sit alone, and when they came in it was too much for her.  The way Korra looked at her told her something was off, and she couldn’t handle seeing either ocean blue or brilliant green eyes right now.  Like a coward, she bailed when their backs were turned.

Tuesday was really good at hiding in plain sight.  It was something she had practiced after finding her best friend and girlfriend together and she had perfected it right after her Mom and Mara had died.  The doctors and nurses were always trying to get her to talk when she just wanted to be alone, so she found she was good at making herself scarce. 

She applied these skills with vigor this morning.  Many times people walked right under her and didn’t even see her.  But then again no one knew she knew her way around a boat, let alone knew how to climb lines.  No one thought to look up.  Remembering their first night together on the roof, she wondered if Korra and Asami would walk under her and think to look up, but they never walked by.

All her heart wanted her mind to think about was fixing things between them, finding out what she did wrong or if she might have actually been reading way too much into it and they just wanted a night alone, but her brain told her to concentrate on what was soon coming.  They’d been sailing around the islands for awhile now, and she knew she’d need to be there and alert for the group when the time came.  She slipped down unnoticed from her sail.

Kya was the first to see her, and not wanting to be found alone, she decided to tag along with the waterbender even though she knew she wouldn’t be very good company for the healer .  They shuffled around and made small talk, coming to a stop on starboard side, looking at the tall, looming cliffs of the island only a couple hundred feet away from them.  She stared at the jagged red rocks in wonder.

_Wait a second._

She just saw a face in the side of the cliff.  IN the side of the cliff.  “Kya,” she said hastily, “did you see that?”

“I thought I saw a face, but I am getting old.”

“No, you saw a face,” she breathed.  Something was pulling her there.

_Keep your eyes open._

She gasped as she replayed Avalon’s statement in her mind. 

“Kya, I need to get over there."

* * *

 

Everyone was starting to gather.  They’d be docking soon, but they weren’t getting off the boat the traditional way.  It was all part of the decoy.  They were going overboard on the other side.  Korra was so very ready for all of this to be done with. 

Yesterday Iroh confirmed the sub spent most of its time in this area.  If they were lucky, it was only several hundred yards away.  If they weren’t, they might be searching for several days.  It was a good thing Iroh knew his stuff.

She and Asami turned simultaneously as they heard feet tearing up the deck in a flat out run.  Her heart jumped out of her chest when she realized it was Tuesday. 

“Listen, I know this might sound crazy, but Kya and I were looking at the cliffs and I can swear I saw a face in the cliff, like inside the cliff.  I blinked, and it was gone, but Kya saw it too.  I feel like we’re missing something here.  Let me go check it out,” she pleaded to them.

Kya had joined them to hear the last of what Tuesday relayed to Korra.  “Damn kid runs fast.  If she’s crazy, so am I.  I saw it too.  I thought I was seeing things until she said something.”

Well this complicated things a bit.

Lin and Tonraq joined their gathering, and Tuesday stood there nervous and pale, probably thinking they all figured her crazy.  Well, Korra didn’t.  She looked over at her wife and saw her face set and determined.  She believed her too. 

“Tuesday and Kya saw a face inside the cliff.  Tuesday wants to go check it out, and I think if she thinks it’s something we should check out then we should,” Korra said aloud.  Their friend looked at her and gave her a tiny smile.  Her heart tightened in pain at the sadness in those slate blue eyes.

Lin stared at Korra for a moment before turning her gaze to Tuesday.  Korra knew exactly what was happening.  Lin could penetrate a soul with her stare, and their friend was the one under scrutiny right now.  She turned away quickly enough and looked at Kya, who reassured her girlfriend with a nod.

“All right,” Lin agreed, “but you’re not going alone.”

“I can’t take away anyone else!  You guys need as many people as possible,” Tuesday interjected.

“We don’t send family out alone,” Asami said firmly, her bright green eyes fixed on Tuesday.  Korra could feel the emotion in her words, and she hoped their friend could as well.

“We’re on the same team,” Lin said.  “I’ll come with you.”

Tonraq stepped forward and put an arm around Tuesday.  “I’m coming too.  Not only are we on the same team, but my daughters trust you, so I trust you.”

Tuesday looked from Tonraq to Korra then from Lin to Kya.  Korra could tell it was tearing her apart to pull them away from their loved ones.  It broke her heart that Tuesday apparently didn’t see herself as a part of them.  Something inside of her moved her feet and her arms wrapped around the woman the best they could considering her very large father had her in his embrace as well.  Asami was right behind her, and the next thing they knew Tonraq was pretty much just hugging a bundle of young women in his broad arms.  He kissed the tops of their heads and they collectively laughed when Lin muttered, “Oh for Spirit’s sake.”

Korra pulled away and ran towards Lin, tackling her with a hug before kissing her cheek, the chief trying to stiff arm her the whole time without success.  At that point everyone had surrounded them; perhaps the embraces had given off the impression that people were leaving, which was precisely what was happening.  ‘Good lucks’ and ‘see you soons’ were shared along with hugs after a brief explanation of what was going on, and she and Asami got a massive bear hug from Tonraq.  “Take care of yourselves.  I know you two can handle this.  Mom and I love you both.”

“We love you too Dad,” Korra said, refusing to get emotional because she knew in her heart she would see her father alive and well soon.  She felt confident Tuesday and Lin would never let anything happen to her father.

She turned to face her wife, and Asami nodded.  They sought out Tuesday, who’d sort of backed off to the side and was looking over her shoulder towards the cliffs.  When they approached her, she seemed surprised.  Again, Korra could only reach out for her, and Asami wrapped her arms around the both of them.  She felt the apprehension in Tuesday’s touch as she returned the embrace. 

“Tuesday, you come back to us.  Do you hear me?” her wife demanded, her voice shaking.  She pulled back just enough for the other two women to see her.  Tears streaked her beautiful face and her eyes were searching Tuesday’s face frantically as if she were trying to read their friend’s mind.

All Korra could see on Tuesday’s face was pain and confusion, but she answered Asami.  “I’ll come back,” she said softly, “but I should go.  If they’re with the Red Lotus and they recognized anyone on the boat they’ll be tipped off you’re coming.”  She looked at the two of them one last time and set off with Tonraq and Lin towards the stern.


	46. The Hideout

“I’ll go first,” Tuesday said, and dove into the water from the stern without hesitation.  Once in the water she formed her air bubble and waited for Tonraq, who would come first so as soon as Lin was in the water he could bend it away from the both of them.

She didn’t have to wait long, and they began swimming toward the cliffs.  Tuesday thought it was going to take forever until she realized the water was moving with her, almost as if she were riding an underwater current.  She turned her head to see Tonraq smile at her from inside their bubble.  He was creating the current. 

_Bending is freaking amazing._

They reached the cliffs quickly but cautiously.  The area was devoid of jagged rocks as the water was still deep here, but they ran the risk of the waves pushing them into the spiky wall of rock next to them.  Tuesday soon discovered Tonraq was holding them still against the waves as well. 

She had an idea but didn’t want to surface, so she decided to attempt joining her bubble with theirs, and it worked.  “Neat.  I wasn’t sure if that would work.  Okay, so, Lin, Korra told me how you see seismically.  Is there any way you could try it on the side of the cliff?  There has to be a room or a hallway hidden in there somehow.  I don’t know what else could explain what we saw.”

“All I need to do is get up against the cliff.  It might be harder to get a read on anything considering the edges are so uneven, but if I can find a spot on the cliff the size of my foot that’s flat enough, I should be able to see in,” she replied.  “Tonraq, can you get me up against the cliff?”

“With ease,” he answered.  He bended the water around them and maneuvered their position until they could practically reach out and touch the side of the cliffs.  Tuesday could tell it was harder to hold the waves at bay here, so she hoped Lin could find a spot to stomp quickly.

Tonraq moved them east along the wall for several yards until Lin found a spot the right size that was smooth enough to get a good seismic read.  She reached out and grabbed a piece of rock that jutted out in a perfect handhold to place her a little more perpendicular to the wall.  Tuesday watched as the chief lifted her foot and slammed it down perfectly in the little area she had to work with.  She shook her head.  “I’m only getting a few feet in, and it’s solid.”

 _It’s waterlogged._ She cleared her throat.  “Could that be because it’s waterlogged?  Can you bend the water from it, Tonraq?”

“That makes sense.  The water is adding density making it too cloudy for me to see,” Lin said.

“Tuesday, if you can be Lin’s air supply for a few moments, I can pull some of the water out.  I won’t be able to get it all,” said Tonraq.  She nodded and quickly formed the air barrier for herself and Lin, feeling Tonraq pull out of the bubble.  How she could manipulate an element like this still blew her mind. 

They watched Tonraq make forms through a hazy sheet of water between the two bubbles.  “What does bending earth feel like?” Tuesday asked.

Lin turned to look at her, a pensive look upon her face.  Maybe not a lot of people have asked her that question before.  Her eyebrows separated and she shrugged one shoulder, no longer contemplative.  “For me, it feels like I’m a magnet that can change its polarity and earth is metal.”

Tuesday grinned.  She liked the way Lin thought.  “You explained that in a way I could sense how it feels.  Thank you.  That’s really neat.”

Lin half-shrugged again, but Tuesday thought she saw a tiny smile on the corner of her mouth.  At that moment, Tonraq popped into their bubble, and Tuesday felt her element’s pressure shift.  The waterbender had a thin sheen of sweat on his face.  He was getting fatigued.  A lot of his energy was being used to keep them unseen and safe from the forces of his element.  “I think I got a good bit out, but you should do it now,” he informed them.

Lin positioned herself as she had before and sent her foot against the side of the cliff.  A look of disbelief appeared on her face.  “Tunnels… so many of them just within what I can see.  You were right, kid,” Lin straightened herself.  “If we go up about four feet, I can get through the side and get us into a hallway.”

* * *

 

Tuesday couldn’t stop thinking about her girls and wondered if they’d found the submarine and if they were okay.  As she sneaked through the hidden tunnels in search of anyone or anything that could tell them what they’d found she continued to feel guilty for separating the team like this.  They’d seen nothing, and even if they did find someone or something, it might have nothing to do with the Red Lotus.

 _Keep your eyes open,_ Avalon had warned her.

Something in her gut told her she was in the right place; she just hoped this time it was telling her the right thing.

“Have you two noticed how the floor slants?  It’s almost like we’re in a drain,” she said quietly to the other two.  “I think we should move toward the center.”

“That’s a good idea.  We can navigate that without me using my bending,” Lin said.  “If there’s other earthbenders here they might sense it.”  Tonraq was at the front of the line, and his gaze fell to the floor as he starting working their way through the maze of tunnels by following the slant downwards.

It was bound to happen at some point; they had just turned a corner when they heard voices.  They ducked into a nook and held their breath.

Tuesday strained her ears to try to make out what they were saying, but instead of turning the corner near them, they went a different way.  “Should we follow them?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Tonraq nodded and crept out of their hiding spot, following the muffled voices they’d heard.  Lin followed and Tuesday took up the rear.  After several minutes, Tonraq paused, and she strained her ears.  “I can’t hear them anymore,” he said, looking disappointed.

“Let’s just keep moving down.  At some point we’ll have to come across something,” Lin said.  Tonraq turned to lead them further into the maze.  Time got a little lost for Tuesday.  It was pitch black in several of the tunnels, so they figured they weren’t used as often as the ones lit by torches, which were the ones they tried to stick to.  In taking the lit hallways, on occasion, they’d hear a voice and hide, try to follow it afterwards only to lose them shortly after.  When that happened, they just continued to move further down.

They entered a hallway that looked freshly carved out of the rock, and Lin pulled a chunk of black volcanic rock from the wall.  “This is just like the sample of rock the Fire Lord sent me,” she whispered.  “The metal is nutrient dense and lightweight.  I have a feeling we might be under the rock quarry.”

“It makes sense geographically,” Tonraq stated.

Tuesday was starting to feel fatigued.  Her lack of sleep the night before was catching up to her.  She shook her head and took a swig of water from her canteen before pouring some on her forehead.  That woke her up a little, but it was getting more humid the farther down they traveled, and that wasn’t helping her feel any better.

“There’s lava underneath of us.  It’s really far down, but I can feel the heat of the earth around it,” Lin informed them in a low voice.

Well that explained things.

Her brain acted on its own accord and flashed a picture in her mind.  Tuesday found this very peculiar considering it wasn’t a scene she’d seen herself, it was one that had been described to her.  Korra, suspended in chains above a vat of lava… she shivered at the thought and prayed to the spirits that it wasn’t some sort of premonition. 

She was walking quietly behind Lin, paying close attention to her surroundings, hoping she hadn’t sent the three of them on a wild goose chase when she felt the gentlest flow of air coming from her left.  Thing was, her left was nothing but solid wall.  She halted and took a half step backwards, eyes scouring the wall, and sure enough, there was a crack running vertically down its length. 

A crack… or a line?  Like these two stones had been slid together?

Placing her hand against the crack, she felt the push of warm air that had gotten her attention.  It had to be open in there… some sort of ventilation had to be present to create this draft.  Looking in front of her, she noticed Tonraq and Lin had stopped and were making their way back towards her.  She put her finger up against her lips, and they nodded as they understood her request to remain quiet. 

As they came to her, she took Lin’s hand and placed it against the line, then did the same thing with Tonraq’s.  As quietly as possible she breathed, “We need to get in there.”

Lin spoke just as softly.  “I can check to see how many people are in there, but the reverberations might alert them, and if they’re enemies, they’ll be ready for us.”

Tuesday got an idea.  “If you just earthbended a small bit away, just big enough for the three of us to squeeze through, would it make a difference?  If I could slide in and scout the area then come back, we keep our element of surprise.”

“I can’t guarantee it won’t be felt, but it’s worth a try just to keep ourselves hidden since we have no idea what is on the other side of this wall,” Lin whispered.

Tuesday watched as she made a door in the wall near the floor.  They all listened quietly for a moment for any warning that they’d been felt or heard, and when nothing came, Tuesday spoke up.  “If this ends up being nothing and I pulled you away from your family for it, I apologize.  I hate that I took you away from them as it is, but for what it’s worth, thank you for coming.  Korra and Asami have changed my life, and I would do anything for them.”

Having said that, she ducked into the hole and stood up.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, and when they finally did her hand flew up to her mouth to stop the scream that threatened to escape from her lips. 

She was standing at the edge of a huge cavern.  In the middle of the room was a gaping hole; a mouth in the earth.  She didn’t need to stand at the edge of it to know that there was lava in there.  It was emitting the red light that washed over the room as well as the heat that caused her hair to stick to her head.

Even though she told herself not to look up, she did anyway, and tears automatically started to spill from her eyes as she saw the chains hanging high up in the edges of the cavern.  These people were Red Lotus, all right, and they were planning on taking Korra again. 

_Over my fucking dead body._

Anger coursed through her unlike any she’d ever felt.  They weren’t going to lay a finger on her.  They would not even have the luxury of occupying the same _space_ as her.

Across the room she could see light behind some sort of door.  Shadows moving across the bottom of the door told her there were people in there.  She wanted to break the door down and go after them, but she knew she couldn’t act rashly. 

That’s when she noticed the podium of stones cradling a basin off to her right.  Another jolt shot through her as she recalled Korra’s story of the mercury. 

She had to get to those people and bring this cavern down, but it would have to be her and Lin.  She would not let Tonraq come in here.  As a parent, she could not let him do that.

Steeling her nerves, wiping her tears, and ridding her face of any fear, she ducked back through the hole and stood quickly to face her teammates.  “It’s Red Lotus, all right.  There are people in there on the far side in some sort of room.  Lin, come with me, Tonraq, you should stay here and watch from this side,” she commanded, hoping the authority in her voice would keep him here.  She didn’t want to tell him anything more.

“I should come through and help,” Tonraq argued with just as much authority.

“You can’t go in there,” she said.  _Please don’t make me tell you why.  I won’t do it._

“Why not?  I am here to protect my daughter, and if the Red Lotus is in there, I want to act,” he said.

“I understand, but your daughter is the reason you shouldn’t go in there.  Please, just trust me.  Lin and I can handle this.  Protect us from this side.”  She handed her canteen to the waterbender so he’d have extra ammunition and then ducked back into the room without another word.  Once through she moved out of the way so Lin could follow. 

As soon as Lin had straightened up beside her and gained her eyesight, Tuesday felt the chief’s hand on her shoulder.  She looked at the older woman to see her hand cover her mouth and her eyes widen. 

“I didn’t want you to see it, either, because I know you love Korra too, but… I just couldn’t let him see it, and I knew I’d need help,” she admitted.  Lin squeezed her shoulder before letting her go.

“You did right by everyone.”  Lin ducked back through the hole for a moment then rejoined her a few seconds later.  “I just told him to stay put.  He knows now that if he comes through that hole under any circumstances I will put him in jail for a week.”

“Thank you, Lin, for your help and understanding.  Now let’s go over there,” she said, pointing to the light behind the door across the cavern with narrowed eyes and a vengeful smile, “and give them a little surprise.”


	47. Seeing Red, Fade to Black

That was one of the easiest things Asami thought they’d ever had to work through, especially involving worldly matters, but now they were nervous and scared because they felt like they’d left the real fight behind.

They had docked four minutes after Tuesday, Lin and Tonraq had left them.  Their party went over the stern of the boat, as planned, while Pax played his part, walking off his ship and conducting business like he would if this were any other day. 

The lot of them had been in the water for maybe ten minutes when they found the submarine.  Their well thought out plans were executed with perfection with Korra bending metal and water in the Avatar state to send the submarine spinning in hopes to dizzy or knock out anyone that might be able to navigate the ship away from them.  It seemed to work, and they penetrated the vessel with ease, which had obviously been crafted out of the metal they had found in the quarry, just as Korra had guessed.

They caught another break when they realized Korra had ripped into the room right next to the small engine room, holding the appropriate sized engine required to run this sub, just like Tuesday had suggested to them.  Then when Korra and her team ran into the adjoining room, they found metalbenders and waterbenders trying to come around enough to make the forms they would need to propel the vessel away… just as Tuesday had suspected.

Problem was no one of importance was on the submarine.  They searched the entire thing for the man they thought to be Ghazan’s son, and when questioned, none of the prisoners would talk.  So she took control of the sub and steered it back to the docks; they then loaded everyone up and took them to the harbor, and Korra got on the radio and called for General Iroh.

Now the prisoners were safely jailed on Iroh’s ship, and together the two ships went in search of the rest of their party.

Asami was worried sick.  They’d sailed back and forth outside the area Kya pointed out to them.  Korra stared at the wall, barely blinking.  She was just as worried as she was.

“I’m going over there.  Who wants to come with me?” Korra asked the crowd assisting them in scouring the cliff side.

In spite of her trepidation, Asami couldn’t help but smile as answering hands shot into the air.

* * *

 

“You push in the door; I go in with a blast of air?” Tuesday whispered to Lin as they stood a mere six feet away from the door in question.  Lin nodded and set her feet.  She thought of how angry she was standing in this cavern.  She vowed then and there to find every single one of them and bring them down.  Tuesday channeled her anger and took her stance.  Eyes burning, she nodded at Lin.

The door flew into the room like it weighed nothing.  A few grunts told her they’d gotten at least one person.  Pulling the air around her, the now familiar windswept feeling rushing through her veins, Tuesday shot a gust into the room.  The sound of bodies hitting rock accompanied the sound of rushing wind, and she halted her movement to enter the room with Lin.

Fire came from her left so quickly she barely had a chance to dodge it.  Her mind registered that Lin had taken the right side of the room as she spun to evade the quick blasts of flames coming from the firebender near her side.  It took her a second to realize this man was older, and his bending already seemed to be fizzling out.  Watching his movements for a second as she defended herself enabled her to pick up his style quickly and as soon as the opportunity to make a move presented itself, she took it, sending the man into the wall with a blast of air just enough to knock him out.  He’d have a headache, but he’d live.

_That asshole better have some answers, too._

She faced the room to find a new fight.  Lin was battling two earthbenders successfully, but from the look of things it wouldn’t be for much longer without them overpowering her, and Tuesday jumped into the mix, going after the older, long haired man closest to her. 

For as much as she hated fighting, this felt natural to her.  She felt purpose in her life again.  Sure, she was terrified, and the sight of that cavern would probably haunt her dreams for ages, but she was serving and protecting the Avatar, the very wonder these people were trying to rid the world of just because of what she was.

Tuesday’s anger surged and she swept the feet of her opponent, sending him to the ground.  She took off in a dive, planning to tackle the man, but he surprised her by getting up quickly and rounding on her, making a form.

Next thing she knew, lava had sprouted from the ground between them.  A sinister smile spread across his face as his chest rose and fell with exhaustion.  “I’m about to wipe that smile off your face,” she said, sending a blast of air at his chest so quickly he didn’t have time to react.  He shot backwards, hitting and landing crumpled against the wall. 

Lin’s fight had moved out into the cavern, and she was about to join her when she noticed a small, red, leather bound book laying open next to the lavabender she’d just knocked out.  Checking the faces of the three men and one woman they’d knocked out to make sure they were still unconscious, she reached down and grabbed it. 

It was a contact book.  Tons of names lined each page, though she quickly realized she was nearing the end of them and it was only the middle of the book.  Flipping to the back, she skimmed what looked like notes from a few paragraphs.  Her blood began to boil as she realized they were basically journal entries and illustrations from tried and failed attempts at capturing and ending the Avatar as well as bits of advice on how to succeed in the future, complete with pictures. 

“Trial and error doesn’t work in this case, fucker,” she said, kicking the boot of the man closest to her before turning out of the room to join Lin.  She pocketed the book before sending a blast of air towards the… _ah shit._

Another lavabender?  He had flipped to dodge the boulder Lin had sent his way, but he didn’t see Tuesday’s element coming for him… in any way.  Ditches of lava in the cavern floor was what had given his gift away for her rather obviously, and she jumped over several of them running to meet the enemy before he could recover from his landing. 

Lin was right next to her, so Tuesday decided to approach things a little differently.  Instead of meeting him head on in an attack, she flipped past him and sent air spiraling towards him to knock him closer to the chief.  It only half worked, as he rolled his body to evade part of the force, but Lin was able to get one metal lead on his ankle.  

Unfortunately for them, he just bended it off himself and sent a disc of lava at Lin.  Tuesday blew it away before moving in for physical contact.  If she couldn’t outbend the guy, maybe she could incapacitate him to the point Lin could get enough metal leads on him.  And she wasn’t sure, but she felt like it was a big deal that this guy could lavabend AND metalbend. 

As she got closer to the man, she realized he was just barely that.  He looked no more than eighteen or nineteen years old.  His familiar face triggered something in her mind… a picture they’d been shown in their well made plans- this was the son, the person they were looking for.

The last thing she noticed, as he deflected her punches, was that while there was anger in his eyes, there was also fear.

He hadn’t learned this hate on his own.  One thing Tuesday could not stand were parents that taught hate and prejudice in any form to their children.  This guy had a chance to change his ways, and in accepting this she decided to be merciful to him, but not that merciful, because he was still a part of the bad guys who were trying to kill one of her best friends.  Not giving him a chance to catch her, she landed a blow in each of his kidneys before spinning quickly around and elbowing him in the solar plexus.  His body doubled over as the wind rushed out of his lungs, and Lin took the chance to bind his hands together.  Tuesday used the heel of her palm to nail him across the back of the head, successfully knocking him out.

Although a weight fell off her chest, she sank to her knees.  She felt weak.  Lin knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.  “You all right, kid?”

“Yes.  Let’s round them up so none of them can get away,” she said, forcing herself to stand without wobbling.  Lin grabbed her arms halfway through and aided the rest of the way.  Feeling as though she owed the woman an explanation, she said, “I didn’t get any sleep last night, so I’m just a little tired, but I’ll be okay.”

A gruff voice spoke from the shadows, causing them to jump.  “Not if I have anything to do with it.”  She heard the sound of rock tearing away from rock.  In the pale red light of the haunting cavern she saw Lin react defensively, but it was too late.  Red flooded her vision as the small boulder made contact with the side of her head, and then everything went black.


	48. In the Dark

“Tonraq!”

_What is that in Tonraq’s arms?_   _No, no, no!_   Asami froze.

_Tuesday._

Coming up beside her, Korra yelped when she saw the bloody, limp mass being carried by her father.  She started to rush towards them. 

“Turn around and go.  We need Kya.  Go,” he commanded his daughter.  “Get me to the ship.”

As Tonraq walked past her, she braved a look at Tuesday.  What she saw caused fear to crash against her ribcage.  Tears poured from her eyes.  Opal, Bolin, Wing and Wei had been searching with them, and Opal gently grabbed and pulled at Asami’s arm.  “Come on, being here will do nothing.  Go back with them and see what you can do to help.  We’ll find Aunt Lin.”

Nodding, Asami stood and ran after her wife. 

When they had first approached the cliff, Korra had gone into the Avatar state and ripped a hole the size of a Satomobile out of the side of it.  Navigating the maze hadn’t been as easy, but Asami noticed pretty quickly that they should move down, the slant in the floor giving her the clue.  She was losing the sound of shuffling feet in the maze as she chased after Tonraq and Korra, but now she knew she just needed to stay within range of the sounds and keep moving up.

Finally, she saw sunlight, and rounding another corner she saw Tonraq and Korra standing in the hole she’d previously created.  “Korra,” she sobbed, and only then did she realize she was still crying.  They turned towards her and she said, “I’m coming with you.”

Korra nodded as her eyes began to glow.  “When the wave reaches us, grab hold of me and don’t let go.”

Her wife began to make beautiful, fluid, intricate forms, and Asami could hear the water reacting below them.  She repeated the movements another couple of times, each time the wave rising higher and higher until the top of it reached the ledge on which they were standing.  Korra had stilled with her arms held in one position, so Asami latched on to her.  Tonraq climbed onto the wave first, steadying himself with his waterbending somehow, she figured.  The Avatar moved onto the wave, and streams of water wrapped around the lot of them, securing them.

Asami gasped as the wave started to move.  It served as a moving platform, carrying them to the boat in record time.  Korra hopped down onto the deck first, and Asami released her quickly, hoping to assist Tonraq with Tuesday if she was needed.  She saw Kya running to meet them, and Korra waterbended her father and Tuesday safely to the deck. 

When Kya saw Tuesday, she turned sheet white.  “Tonraq,” she whispered. 

“Get to work on her now,” he said.  Asami noticed how he looked first at her, then his daughter.  He knelt down but continued to cradle Tuesday in his arms. 

Korra had finally frozen.  Asami figured she must have finally gotten a look at what she had already seen in the maze.

Tuesday was bleeding, so she knew she was alive.  But for how long, and if she’d ever be herself again, that was yet to be known. 

Asami wanted to close her eyes, but every time she did she saw the bit of flat, white bone protruding from the left side of Tuesday’s head.  Someone or something hit her so hard they had cracked her skull.

Korra had finally snapped out of her stupor and was healing their friend alongside Kya, her face grim but determined.  Asami told her legs to move, and they complied, albeit hesitantly, to carry her closer to their friend.  An exhale full of gratitude escaped her lungs as she saw that they had already seemed to put the bone back in its place and slow the bleeding, but she knew the real concern was if the shard of bone and force of the impact had done any lasting damage to her brain. 

Korra’s voice was shaky as she asked the elder healer, “Are you probing?”  Kya seemed to know what she was asking.

“If you can take care of the swelling and bleeding, I’m working on the internal… internally,” she answered.  _She didn’t want to say ‘damage’_ , Asami thought to herself.

Asami had knelt next to Tonraq and was absentmindedly stroking the side of Tuesday’s face that wasn’t turning black and blue.  When she attempted to run her fingers through her hair, she panicked as she discovered she couldn’t due to the copious amounts of dried blood.  It seemed she’d lost more blood than they realized. 

“Tonraq, what happened in there?” she whispered.

“Tuesday discovered a room where Red Lotus members were hiding.  She went in to scout and came back out for Lin.  She told me not to follow them, I’m not sure why, but she said it had something to do with you,” he answered, his usually steeled voice shaky, his eyes fixed on his daughter.  “It was obviously something she didn’t want us to see.  Lin went back in with her, but she came back out after a few seconds and reiterated what Tuesday had said, and told me that if I didn’t listen to the girl she’d personally throw me in jail for a week.”  He chuckled half-heartedly as he recalled the memory.  “I really wish I hadn’t listened to them now.  But a little while after that, I heard a fight break out.  At that moment, a few men came at me in the hall.  After I knocked each of them out, I noticed I couldn’t hear fighting anymore, and the next thing I knew Lin was handing me Tuesday through the hole in the wall, telling me to get her to Kya.  She said she needed to stay with the prisoners.  I don’t know anything more than that.”  He looked down at the girl in his arms.  “But I have a feeling Tuesday saved you this time, Korra.”

Asami looked at her wife, and while her tears had been silently streaming the whole time, Korra’s were fresh in her eyes. 

“I’ve done all I can do for her here.  I need to get her to a healing pool,” Kya said, her hands still moving the glowing healing water across the left side of Tuesday’s head.  “I know you don’t want to leave her right now, Asami, but could you find Pax or someone on the boat who can point us to the closest one?”

“There should be one in sickbay here on board,” she said, rising quickly.  “I’ll go find out where it is.”

She took off running, heading for the helm, feeling that was where she was most likely to find Pax.  As usual, her intuition served her well, and she yelled to him before she reached him.  He ran to meet her, his green eyes widening as he realized she’d been crying.  “What’s wrong?”

“Do you have a healing pool in sickbay?” she asked frantically, turning and rushing back towards Tuesday, motioning for him to follow her.

“Yes, a small one, will that work?  Boss, is it Tuesday?” he asked, running alongside her.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she nodded.  She had almost forgotten he cared about her, too.  He took off ahead of her, jumping over anything in his path but slowing as he approached them, realizing she was being worked on.  His eyes were fixed on Tuesday as he walked up to Tonraq.

“I can carry her to sickbay,” he offered quietly.  Tonraq looked down at the girl in his arms and nodded.  Kya and Korra halted their healing and her father-in-law gently handed Tuesday to him.  He was gone in an instant, rushing but doing so smoothly, being careful not to jar the woman in his arms.  Their party followed him in silence through the inside of the ship, and when they arrived to sickbay, he carried her to the pool before turning to ask, “Head in the water?”

Kya nodded as she approached the pool.  “I need someone to support her.  This will be best if we submerge all but her face right now,” the healer assessed.  At her words, Asami was in the water, arms reaching out to Pax.  Together they eased Tuesday into the water, and Kya and Korra immediately began what was possibly going to be a very long process.

* * *

 

Korra stood at the stern of the ship relishing the cold night air on her skin.  Physically, she was exhausted, but her mind was going a mile a minute.

Tuesday was asleep.  Kya had repaired everything she could find as much as she could for today, but with the level of damage that had been done to her head, there was just no way to know how things would be when she woke up.

_Stop thinking like that.  She’s just sleeping.  She’ll wake up soon and be her normal self._

Korra was livid.  When Iroh had boarded their ship to tell them that every single body, forty-six of them, that they could find in the maze, which they discovered spread out for miles inside the island, was now imprisoned, she was ready to pound every last one of them into the ground until she found out which one was responsible for what happened to Tuesday.

She had to tell herself that was the old Korra.

They were going to trial.  She knew justice would be served.  Fire Lord Izumi would see to that.

Asami was wrapped up in a blanket and leaning into her.  They hadn’t said much at all since everything happened, relying on their affection to keep them stable.  She felt like speaking the words made everything more real.  All she wanted was to wake up in the morning next to Asami and Tuesday, back home in their bed.  

As much as she hoped for the best, she was the type of person that thought realistically.  Feeling restless, like she should be doing something, she nuzzled her face into her wife’s hair and said, “I’m going to go check in on her.  Come with me?”

She felt her wife nod, and together they headed towards sickbay, holding hands the whole way.  When they arrived, Korra saw something that downright surprised her.

Lin was sitting at Tuesday’s side, all on her lonesome.  She didn’t acknowledge their presence at first, waiting until they sat down on the side opposite her.  Asami immediately reached for Tuesday’s hand, and Korra grasped some of her friend’s soft curls and began fiddling with them absentmindedly.

The older woman cleared her throat, and Korra met her eyes.  They hadn’t talked to the chief yet, and although Korra wanted to know what had happened inside the maze, she was also afraid to hear, and she wasn’t sure if Lin was ready to talk about it either.  Her demanding need to know won out, however.

“Lin, I understand you might not be ready to talk about this, but…”

“She followed her gut.  It paid off in the sense that she located the Red Lotus.  We fought until we knocked them all out, or so we thought.  An older man we now believe to be Ghazan’s father had regained consciousness and he… he was the one who…”

Korra had never seen Lin this visibly upset.

“When that boulder hit her head… I’ve never heard a sound like that in all my years.  We didn’t see or hear him...”

Now she understood the metalbender’s anguish.  Just the thought of the sight and sound of what had happened to Tuesday made Korra’s stomach lurch.

They all jumped the slightest bit when the door opened and Kya walked in.  She quietly pulled up a chair next to Lin and sat down, resting her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder. 

“This girl is an impressively smart, quick fighter,” the Chief said quietly.  “I regret thinking she wouldn’t be able to hold her own.”

“You couldn’t have known.  She just developed airbending a week ago,” Kya said.

“Couldn’t tell,” Lin retorted.  Korra watched her look at Tuesday, her eyes full of concern.  “She’s also incredibly selfless.  As a cop, I see so much negativity all the time, reality just gets so bleak.  Then once in awhile, you meet a person that helps to restore your faith in humanity.  You two do that for me quite often,” Lin admitted, gazing at them both, “and you, with your free-spiritedness and ability to lighten everything,” she said, grasping Kya’s hand.  She turned her gaze to the unconscious girl on the bed, the woman Korra couldn’t bear to look at because she didn’t want to cry in front of Lin, and said, “And this one… I don’t even know her, but what selflessness.  She apologized for needing my help.  Finding… what she found… her only thoughts were of protecting you and your loved ones, Korra.  She said you two have changed her life.  If… when she comes through this, keep doing what you’re doing.  This one is a true friend.  I feel lucky to know her.  She saved my hide today.  I thought that lava disc was going to take my head off.”

Kya squeezed Lin’s hand.  “Tonraq said she wouldn’t let him in.”

Lin answered softly, her pale green eyes still fixated on the airbender.  “She had her reasons.”

Korra wasn’t completely sure, and she was certain that if she asked she wouldn’t get confirmation, but she had a feeling Tuesday had stumbled upon something that was intended for her.  She wouldn’t let her father see it because she knew what it was like to be a parent.  Seeing something like that would haunt her father the rest of his life.

“She did have reasons,” Korra whispered.  “She knew what it was like to be a parent.”

“Korra,” Asami scolded softly, “that’s not our story to share.”

“Then she can wake up and stop me,” she said, her eyes looking at the dark red scar that started right above Tuesday’s left eyebrow and moved into her hairline.  A centimeter lower and he would have hit her in the temple.  A centimeter lower and she would have died.  “I feel like they should know her, too.  They fought together.  We don’t want her to go anywhere.  We told her she’s a part of our family now.”

Asami watched Tuesday’s face.  Korra didn’t know how she could without wanting to break down, but they’d always handled things differently.  “I’m only agreeing with it because I hope she does wake up to fuss at you,” she said with a small smile.

Korra looked at the older couple across from her.  “Tuesday had twins… but her son was stillborn.  He died during delivery.  And a couple of years ago she, her mom, and her daughter were in a car accident, and she was the only one who lived, though she said she sometimes wishes she hadn’t survived.”  A single tear slid down her cheek.  “Her daughter was six.”

Dropping the disheveled curls from her hands, she gently unbuttoned the rolled up sleeves of her friend’s flannel.  She wanted to see the tattoo of her babies’ feet.  She wasn’t sure why, but she felt like if she and Asami lost her, maybe she would somehow find her children, and as much as it hurt to think about, it brought her a sliver of consolation. 

She exposed the tattoos of the tiny feet, and another tear left her eye.  She heard Kya gasp.  The waterbender was reacting very similarly to the way they had when they first saw it.  Seeing the tattoo now made her feel a little nostalgic, however, reminding her of the night she showed her ink work to them.  It hadn’t even been a full week yet, but it felt like years ago.

Korra ran her fingertips along the tiny feet.  She traced a few spirals and stars with a fingertip simply because she wanted to feel the warmth in Tuesday’s skin.  She got so lost in her thoughts it took her awhile to realize that Kya had asked something and Asami was answering.

“She doesn’t have any family left.  Her father died from an illness and her brother died in a war,” her wife whispered.  So that’s what she had asked.

“No wonder she’s so vehement about keeping your family safe and together,” Lin said.

“Why do you say that like you’re not a part of it?” Korra confronted.  “You should know you are.  We try to show you that you are.”

Lin sighed and tried to give Korra her signature scowl but couldn’t quite pull it off, perhaps in light of the mood.  “I know I am, kid.”  She stood up, keeping a hold of Kya’s hand, and carefully reached across Tuesday to clap her hand on Korra’s shoulder before patting Asami on the hand that held Tuesday’s.  “I’m going to try to get some sleep.  You coming?” she asked Kya.

“I want to do a quick check on her then I’ll follow.”

“Okay,” the Chief said.  “Good night, girls.”

Korra nodded at the chief while her wife softly returned the good night.  Kya leaned forward, pulling water from the basin in the corner of the room and moved it to the area of injury.  The mass glowed blue as the experienced healer probed.  Korra watched her face for any indication of their friend’s progress.  She felt her heart jump in her throat when a small smile appeared on Kya’s lips.  She pulled the water from Tuesday’s head and bended it into a drain.  “Everything seems stable, but she’s not out of the woods just yet.  I want to do another session on her in the pool in the morning, just to be thorough.”

She stood and walked around to Tuesday’s left side, kissing both she and Asami on top of their heads.  “I’m heading to bed.  I’ll see you two in the morning.”  She turned at the door to give them a smile then closed the door behind her.

“You want to head to bed?” Korra asked her wife, caressing the hand that held Tuesday’s.

“Could we stay here?”

“Did you miss her last night?” she inquired.

Her answer was immediate but quiet.  “Yes.  Did you?”

No question.  “Yes.  And I don’t want to leave her, either.”  She paused, a thought on her mind she wanted to share with her wife, something she realized today when her eyes couldn’t leave Tuesday’s face as she worked on her in the healing pool.  She pondered over the best way to say it as she stood to help her wife stand then comfortably tucked her into the small bed next to their friend before she positioned herself on the other side.  However, none of what she considered made it out of her mouth, for as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think some of my readers got fed up with the angst and slow-burn and have bailed on me. The show must go on.


	49. The Dream: Asami

Asami awoke with a start. 

She was in the Spirit World. 

As she propped herself up on her elbows to look around, she heard a chuckle from behind her.

“Don’t worry.  You aren’t imagining things.  You’re just dreaming.”

She sat up and turned around, feeling relief because she recognized the voice.  “Iroh?”

“Hello, Asami.  Come, have some tea.”

He extended his hand to her, and she stood with his help.  Still discombobulated, she felt a little wobbly which was strange, considering she was dreaming. 

“I don’t usually have dreams so vivid,” she said as she followed the stout man back to his hut. 

“This is a different kind of dream,” he explained.

“What kind of dream is that?” she inquired.

“One that you need to remember,” he chuckled, and she smiled.

He held a seat out for her at his table, and for once, they were the only two parties present.  Normally this table was full with Iroh’s friends.  “Where is everyone?”

He smiled, but his eyes and hands stayed busy with making their tea.  “They can sense when a private conversation needs to be held.”

_Oh._

“What do you need to talk to me about?” she asked.

“It’s not what I need to talk to you about, it’s what you need to talk to me about.  The Spirit world works in strange ways, and I think it has sent you to me because it sensed you needed some advice.  It seems it assumes I am good at that,” he shared, his eyes smiling. 

There was… one thing. 

Her voice was barely a whisper.  “Is it possible to romantically love more than one person at a time?”

Iroh placed a cup of tea in front of her.  “That was quick.  I suppose this has been on your mind for awhile?”

“I think part of me was beginning to realize, but today, our friend was… hurt… badly.  The way I reacted told me… that it’s something deeper than I thought,” she explained.

“I see.  And how does Korra feel?” he inquired.

“I know that she cares a lot about her, but I don’t know if she feels exactly the same.”

“Well, she wouldn’t be the first Avatar to have that type of relationship,” he informed her, plunking a few sugar cubes into his tea.

“She wouldn’t?”

“Oh no.  There have been many,” he informed her.

_Huh._

“I know there are people that make it work in those types of relationships.  We have already agreed that we want some sort of relationship with her… but to love her?  I thought all the love I had… THAT sort of love, anyway, went to Korra.  I don’t want her to feel like there was a void in me she wasn’t filling.  Does that make sense?” Asami rambled.

“Makes perfect sense, and I think you’ve accepted how you feel about your friend, but your big worry stems from how your wife will feel.  You know what I’m going to say to that,” the old man gave her a grin.

“Talk to her.”

“Precisely,” he agreed.

“We’ve never had a problem communicating.  I think I just went to sleep with it on my mind tonight,” she said, sipping her tea.

“That is highly likely,” he said, “but something like this does come with a lot of worry, and sometimes it just helps to speak about that worry.”

“Honestly, that is a huge worry… people finding out.  This is serious press material,” she stated.  “I’m not really worried about our family, but the public… that’s different.  If we enter into a relationship with her, I am afraid we’ll be taking away from what her life could be.”

“Then you must talk to _her_.  How else could you know what she wants?  Perhaps being behind the curtain is something she would prefer anyway,” Iroh pointed out.

“It’s funny you say that.”

The old man chuckled.  “Why is that?”

“She’s a musician.  She told us once that performing was the only time she liked being in the limelight,” Asami smiled.  “She’s friendly, and smart, and so talented, but she’s also pretty shy… okay, she’s rather anxious.  She has a lot of nervous habits, but I find them all adorable.”

“You two will need to bring her for tea.  I would love to meet her,” he said. 

“We will.  We found her here, after all,” Asami confessed.

His eyes grew wide.  “Is she the portal walker?” he asked, awe in his voice.

She froze.  “You know about that?”

“I am part of the Spirit world, my dear.  Here, we have a collective mind.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.  And to answer your question, yes, I suppose she is the portal walker,” Asami admitted.

“Then you and Korra must also consider the fact that she may get called away and you cannot follow.  There may be a day she does not return.  Are you prepared for that?” he asked her.

“I’m married to the Avatar so I’m unfortunately very familiar with that horrible feeling.  This is something we’ve talked about.  We figure that her life has been so rough so far that while we can we want to try and make it as wonderful as possible.  We almost lost her today.  That’s what brought all this about,” Asami explained. 

“It is not uncommon to see something good spring from something bad,” Iroh said.  “I take it she’s going to be okay?”

“We aren’t sure.  She’s been healed, but she hasn’t woken up yet,” Asami answered softly.

Iroh placed his hand on hers.  “Do not be troubled.  If she’s anything like the two of you, she’s resilient.”

Asami smiled softly as the sweet man drained his teacup and placed it on the table.  He turned his head as if he heard something and narrowed his eyes.  The look left as quickly as it appeared and a knowing smile graced his face.  “Well my dear, it appears as if it’s time for you to wake.  Remember, bring the portal walker by for tea!” he said, his voice growing more distant as everything around her began to fade.

“Thank you Iroh!”  Asami closed her eyes, or her eyes were already closed, she couldn’t differentiate.  Her mind sat somewhere between awake and asleep for a little while, subconsciously reflecting on her dream.  Several minutes later, her eyes finally opened to the pale blue haze of early morning.  Usually she liked waking this early, but she didn’t have anywhere she needed to be.  Damn her body’s internal clock!

That’s when she noticed the shivers coming from the body beside her.  She reached over and turned on the lamp beside the bed and looked back at Tuesday.  Asami could see the hair standing up on her friend’s arms she was so cold.  She checked to make sure her feet were covered before getting out of bed and going over to the linen closet to grab another blanket. 

She tenderly felt Tuesday’s head to check for a fever, but she felt fine.  She opened the new blanket just enough to cover her friend, keeping it doubled for thickness.  She tucked her feet with the second blanket and crawled back in bed.  Carefully she pulled the bottom blanket up over Tuesday’s arms and gently placed her arm across her belly.  Asami watched her face as her shaking ceased and she allowed herself a small smile when her friend sighed contently in her sleep.

“I hope you wake up soon,” she whispered, and leaned in to leave a kiss on her cheekbone.  Burying her face in Tuesday’s curls, she closed her eyes and fell back to sleep.


	50. The Dream: Korra

Korra was on a beach.  She had no idea how she got there.  Out in the distance she thought she saw someone riding what looked like an elephant koi.  For some reason she felt like she should just sit in the sand and wait for this person, whoever they were, because they were who she needed to talk to.

She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be talking to them about, she just had the overwhelming sense that it was necessary.  Deciding to enjoy the sun in the meantime, she rested back against the warm sand and shielded her eyes with her forearm.

She hadn’t been there long before cold beads of water falling onto her arm and face caused her to sit up rather abruptly and turn around to see who’d been bright enough to lean over her while dripping wet.  Her jaw dropped when she realized Kyoshi was standing in front of her. 

“Close your mouth, Korra,” the woman said, a cute smirk pulling at one side of her mouth.  She exuded dominance and sensuality.  Korra was totally crushing on her previous life.

“What am I doing here?  I thought I couldn’t connect with any of you anymore,” she mumbled.  There was a small possibility she was in shock.

“You can’t.  You’re dreaming.”

“Oh.”  The disappointment was evident in her voice. 

“Don’t sound so upset.  At least we can come to you in your subconscious,” Kyoshi stated.

“I wish you guys would have made an appearance before now,” Korra admitted.

“Don’t worry.  We show up when we need to,” the former Avatar stated.  “Besides, if we showed up all the time, it wouldn’t be so special now, would it?”

She chuckled in spite of her shock.  “I suppose you’re right.  So why are you here?”

“Seems as though you’re having some issues with your feelings and you need some help sorting them out,” the earthbender said.  “For whatever reason, between the Spirit world and its hand in things, the cosmos, and your subconscious,” she patted her chest and outstretched her arms, “here I am.”

“Spirits, you’re tall.”  _Smooth, Korra._

Kyoshi simply chuckled.  “Are we going to go over all the legends?”

Something told her she should.  “Is it true you lived to two hundred?  They say death was afraid of you,” Korra smiled.

“Ha!  I like that.  Maybe it was.  And I was two hundred and thirty,” she answered.  Korra was amazed how she looked so strong, confident, and regal but seemed so laid back then she realized she was the exact same way, well, except for the regal part. 

“Damn.”

“Yeah, I was greedy with life I guess.  I suppose I should just go ahead and confirm that everything you’ve heard is true,” she said, that cute smirk playing on her lips again.

Korra was curious.  “I heard you were bisexual.”  It would be so nice to talk to another Avatar like her.

“Oh, that’s not true.”

Korra hung her head, but it snapped back up when Kyoshi said, “I’m a lesbian.  Gold star, in fact.”

“Oh!  Wait, how is that possible?” Korra asked as something she remembered from Avatar Studies came barreling to the front of her mind.

“Easy.  I never slept with a man.”

“No, no, you had a daughter,” she recalled.

Kyoshi gave Korra a grin, one that took awhile to stretch her lips, like she had a secret she couldn’t share just yet.  “Now, let’s get on with this dilemma of yours before you wake up.”  As the former Avatar said it, Korra noticed the edges of the beach were getting hazy.  “Are you afraid to tell your wife how you feel about your friend, or are you afraid of how you feel towards your friend?”

“How did you know…?” she asked.

“Since this is a dream, your subconscious told me.  So?”

“Well, both,” she answered.  “I don’t want Asami to feel like she’s not enough for me, and I’m confused as to why I love someone else when I have someone so perfect and wonderful for me that gives me everything I could possibly need and more.”

Kyoshi sighed.  “Even if she does feel that way, you have to assure her that it’s not what was lacking, it’s the opposite, in fact.  For me, I always just felt like I had so much to give, and love and attraction and intimacy came so easily to me; it was easy for me to choose a life with partners that were completely happy being one of many.  I think it always worked because the one thing I never failed to do was be honest with everyone about everything.”

“With our friend… we didn’t feel like we had anything missing in life, but then we met her, and when we’re not with her we miss her.  I want to say Asami feels as strongly as I do, but normally we talk about everything, and she hasn’t said anything about it,” Korra rambled.

“Maybe she just hasn’t had a chance to yet.  If she always communicates with you, I wouldn’t worry, unless you think she cares more for your friend than she does you,” Kyoshi retorted.

“Oh no, that’s definitely not it.  If either of us felt strange about this whole situation it wouldn’t be happening.  I love nothing in this world more than her,” Korra said.

“Well it sounds to me you know what you need to do,” Kyoshi says.

“I think I just needed to hear that I wasn’t the only Avatar to feel like this,” Korra grinned, looking at the beautiful woman in front of her.  “And I finally got to meet you, sort of,” she said, awestruck. 

“Hey, just because it happened in a dream doesn’t mean it didn’t really happen,” she said, placing a strong hand on Korra’s bare shoulder and giving it a squeeze.  “It was good to meet you, Korra.  Remember to keep communicating, stay honest and fair, and by the way- keep up the good work.”

She realized all too late her dream was disappearing through tunnel vision, and the last thing she saw was Kyoshi’s proud face before everything went fuzzy and faded away.


	51. The Truth Comes Out

When Asami woke the second time, bright yellow streamed through the windows instead of pale blue, Tuesday was unfortunately still sleeping, and Korra had kicked all the covers off herself.  She was also awake.  She smiled softly as her eyes met the familiar ocean blue of her wife’s eyes.  “Hey,” she whispered.

Korra gave her the signature lop-sided grin.  “Hey.  How’d you sleep?”

“I woke up a few hours ago because Tuesday was shivering but went right back to sleep after I got her another blanket.  I uh… had a very interesting dream,” she admitted.

“Really?  That’s strange.  I did too,” Korra confessed, her eyebrows knitting together in thought.  “What was your dream about?”

Was she ready to talk about this now as Tuesday lay between them, still unconscious and recovering from something that damn near killed her?  Was she prepared to tell her wife she loved someone else in addition to her? 

Yes.  Putting it off would do no good at all.

“I woke up in the Spirit world, and Iroh was there.  I told him about Tuesday; he wants to meet her.  He called her the portal walker, and knew about her.”  Why was she stalling?  “Korra… he talked to me about something else, too.  Something I don’t think I fully realized until yesterday, and I need to talk to you about it.”  She took a deep breath.  “The first thing I want to say is… what I’m about to tell you… I don’t want you to think I don’t love you or want you anymore,” she began to speak frantically when she saw Korra’s eyes widen, “but I… I don’t want Tuesday to go anywhere.  When she wakes up, I want to tell her how we feel, I want the three of us to go back home and be who we’ve been for the last week because we had so much fun together and I want us to try to work through this… because I love her.”

Korra exhaled through her nose.  For a split second, Asami couldn’t tell if she was angry or relieved, but she got her answer when her wife smiled back at her as she chuckled softly.  “I met Kyoshi in my dream, and I talked to her about the same thing.  I don’t want you to feel like you aren’t enough for me, and I think I needed to hear that I wasn’t alone.  Kyoshi had multiple partners too.  Many, she said,” Korra explained.  She looked down at Tuesday.  “Her getting hurt… when you were in the pool with her yesterday holding her as we healed her I realized my feelings weren’t just physical, and they were more than platonic.  I wasn’t sure how I should go about bringing it up, but you don’t feel that way, do you?  That you aren’t enough?”

“No, my love, I don’t feel that way.  I understand how you feel.  I’m baffled to feel this way after only knowing her such a short time, but it feels like we’ve known her for so long.  And… the way I feel for her isn’t exactly the same as what I feel for you.  Every ounce of my being is in love with you- it’s more than just love.”

Korra reached across their friend and caressed her wife’s cheek.  “Same.  I’m so thankful you and I are able to work through these things.  I’m glad we were able to figure out what this was without being jealous or close-minded.  When I think about everything that has happened in the last week, I have a hard time fathoming it all, but at the same time, it just feels like our normal life, so natural, almost as if everything is as it should be… well, except for this one getting hurt.”

Her wife looked down at Tuesday, and the way she looked at her was familiar to Asami because she looked at her the same way.  Korra loved Tuesday, too, and for whatever reason or for whatever cause, she felt warmth looking at the two of them instead of anything negative.  She had finally come to accept the fact that she was the type of person who could happily be in a relationship with more than one person, though it took the right ‘third’ to come along for her to realize that.

Asami looked down at the woman they wanted.  “Tuesday, I hope you can hear us.”  She brought her lips closer to their friend’s ear.  “Please wake up soon.  We have something we need to tell you.”

Korra sniffled, and Asami looked up to see a few tears rolling down her wife’s face.  She reached up to wipe them away, and Korra smiled and leaned into her hand.  She looked back down at Tuesday.  “Yeah, and we don’t care if you have a boyfriend or not.”

Well… now, she hadn’t thought about that.  How could she forget about that kiss?  Well… yesterday was pretty stressful.  Perhaps she also had herself so convinced that the three of them were already a thing that it was impossible for her to remember Pax was in the picture.  What should they do?

“Korra, maybe we shouldn’t stand in the way of her and Pax.”

“Wait, what?  I thought you said you wanted to tell her,” Korra said, obviously confused.

“I also forgot he made a move before we did.  She obviously let him kiss her.  I don’t know if standing in the way of that is right if she’s happy.  We said we’d help her be as happy as possible.  We have to face the fact that that might not include a relationship with us,” Asami explained, already feeling defeated.

Korra frowned, but nodded.  “You’re right, as usual,” she mumbled.  “But can we let her decide what she wants to do?  I mean, if she wants to stay with us can she?  Maybe we won’t outwardly try but just be who we’ve been?  I want things to go back to the way they were this past week.”

“Me too, Babe, and I’m okay with all of that.  We won’t push her, we won’t pull her.  She’s going to need to take it easy for a little while anyway,” she said.

“You know she’s not going to want to take it easy with the venue coming together so quickly,” Korra said, a smile blooming on her face.  “I’m kind of glad we didn’t take her to see it before we left like we had planned.  Now when she sees the progress it’ll be an even bigger surprise.”

The thought of Tuesday seeing the venue made her heart swell in her chest.  She had a few tricks up her sleeve she couldn’t wait to share, but only when the time was right.  There was even a surprise Korra didn’t know about.  Her grin grew sly at the thought.

They cuddled with their friend quietly for a few moments, their arms touching as they rested gently against Tuesday’s belly.  Asami felt so content here, like this.  She brushed her thumb tenderly across the now pink scar above the airbender’s eyebrow, silently asking the spirits to bring her back to them.

A few short minutes later, Korra’s stomach broke the silence.  Asami laughed in spite of her worry, and Korra joined in.  “Maybe we should head to mess for some breakfast,” she said, her hand holding her belly.

She looked down at Tuesday, worried to miss her if she woke up, afraid she’d wake up and be alone.  The sound of the door opening got her attention, and she look over her shoulder to see Lin closing it behind her.

“Still sleeping?” she asked them, a worried look upon her brow.

“Yes, but the amount of trauma she endured caused her body to go into shock.  I promise she’s okay, Lin.  Kya and I both probed yesterday, and Kya did it again before bed, so she’s just getting her rest.  You’ve been in shock before.  You know it makes your body feel like it got hit by a train,” Korra pointed out to her.

“I just want to tell her what a good job she did, and praise her for her bravery and intuition.  I’ve even considered offering her a spot on the force.”

“No!” Korra and Asami declared in unison.  This woman didn’t need to take any more risks.  She’d seen enough turmoil.

“Well all right then, but you could maybe let her think for herself,” the chief snapped back playfully.  Asami knew she understood why they didn’t want that life for their friend.  Lin possibly understood more than anyone what it meant to live a life in law enforcement.  It was all she had ever known.

“Nope.  We’re calling all the shots for her now,” Asami grinned.  She saw a small smile on Lin’s lips for a fleeting moment.  Deep down, the chief had a soft spot for the two of them. 

Her wife’s belly grumbled again.  “Lin, would you stay with Tuesday while we grab breakfast?  We shouldn’t be more than fifteen minutes,” Korra asked.

Lin rolled her eyes.  “Yes, I’ll stay, just don’t take forever about it,” she answered.

Hopping out of the bed quickly like she was actually going to try to hurry, Korra ran to a mirror to make herself presentable enough for the mess hall as Asami stood up and smoothed her clothing.  She’d shower after breakfast.  She stole a quick glance in the mirror to make sure she, too, was decent enough for a semi-public appearance before walking over to the door.  She took one last look at Tuesday as Lin settled into a chair at her bedside, and Korra joined her at the door.  Cyan eyes shined at her as her wife smiled, and they exited the room and closed the door behind them.

* * *

 

“So would you like to go see Mazzi today?” she asked her wife.  Now that the Red Lotus issue was resolved and the trials were starting tomorrow, their day was free except for a meeting later in the evening.

“I do want to go see her, but not until Tuesday wakes up.  I want to be here for that,” Asami answered.  “There’s something else I’ve been thinking about too, Korra.  I don’t think I told you yet, but Mazzi is a musician also, she just works at the radio station because there’s not much else here for her to do in the field.  She plays in a few ragtime bands, but she doesn’t seem happy, I could tell.  What if…”

Korra beamed.  “You want her to come to Republic City with us?”  This is something she had already thought about and wanted to offer.  How awesome would it be for her wife to have her cousin nearby?

Asami grinned from ear to ear.  “Yes!  I was thinking we could offer for her to stay at the manor, but honestly… Korra… why don’t we give her the apartment?  We rarely use it anymore, plus she can work at the venue!”

“That couldn’t be more perfect,” she said, so pleased to see her wife so happy.  “When Tuesday wakes up, if she’s able, the three of us will go see her and ask her, unless you want to do that on your own.  Will you be okay if she says no?”

Her wife stirred what was left of her rice pudding around in the bowl.  “I’ll be sad, especially since I sense she’s not happy here, but I did just meet her, so maybe I’m wrong.   She’s not married nor does she have anything holding her here.  She likes her job all right I guess.  I don’t think she’ll say no, but if she does I’ll be okay.  We’ll just have to take more trips here and have her over as often as possible.”

“I still can’t believe you have a cousin,” Korra said softly, shaking her head in disbelief.  Tuesday was just … amazing.  She’d been in their lives for a week and she’d already done so much for them.  Korra couldn’t understand how Mara’s father, the ex-best friend and the ex-girlfriend could not love this girl.  She doubted she was any different now than she was then.  _Oh well,_ she thought.  _Their loss, our gain._

“I can’t, either.  It’s so wonderful, though,” Asami stated with a twinkle in her eye. 

Korra’s mind wandered as she finished her breakfast.  Asami never said anything about it, but she knew it hurt her to not have any relatives.  Her mother and father as well as Tenzin and Pema had claimed her wife as their own daughter, but she knew it couldn’t ever completely fill the void not having her parents with her.  Her heart ached for her wife, as it had ever since the day she learned of Yasuko’s fate, as it had even more so since the day Hiroshi gave his life to save the city.  Korra’s greatest triumph that day had not been saving the world from Kuvira or saving Kuvira from the spirit vine’s energy or helping her see the error of her ways.  No, those had been the Avatar’s victories.  When Hiroshi was dubbed a hero that day by everyone there- when his death became one not suffered in vain- that was her greatest triumph that day.

Even though it wasn’t her mother or father, Korra knew what a big deal it was for Asami to have someone whose blood she shared, even if their parents had never known of each other.  Hopefully, Mazzi would be a part of their lives from now on, too.  Warmth blossomed in her chest at the thought of all the people they had in their lives.  They were so lucky and they knew it, appreciated it.  No matter how crazy things got, they never felt alone, which was a very big deal to Korra.

“I’m all done.  You want to go back to sickbay and check on Tuesday?” her wife asked her, pulling her from her reverie.

Korra nodded.  She missed Tuesday’s blue-grey eyes and the sound of her voice.  She missed watching her nimble fingers move across the strings of her guitar and she missed her singing.  As much as she wanted to be there when Tuesday woke up, she hoped their friend would already be awake by the time they returned.


	52. Tickled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short... but sweet?

Tuesday wasn’t awake.  She was, however, in the middle of a healing session with Kya.

She was also being held in the pool by a shirtless Pax.

Korra closed her eyes, hoping the jealousy clouding her mind would fade.  She felt Asami’s hand reach out for hers and squeeze it.  Taking a deep breath and opening her eyes, she guided her wife over to the opposite side of the pool so they could watch Tuesday’s healing.

“Lin told me you two stayed with her last night,” Kya said, a thin sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead as her arms continuously and fluidly moved, manipulating the glowing water in the pool. 

Korra’s eyes fixated on the woman in the pool, refusing to notice Pax.  Asami answered next to her.  “We did.  We want to be here when she wakes up.  How is everything looking?”

“Really well, actually, I just wanted to do one more session to help with the fatigue she’s suffered from shock and loss of blood.  Her head looks and feels good to me, but if you want to do another scan, go for it.  Never hurts,” Kya added.

“All right, I will when you’re done,” she said.

“Pax, have you slept at all?” Asami asked the man in the pool.  She turned to look at her wife, whose gaze was locked on their competition.  Following it, Korra actually felt a little remorseful.  Pax looked a mess.  There were dark circles under his eyes and his hair was thrown back in a disheveled bun.  She’d only known the man a day but she’d never seen him frown until now.

He sighed.  “No ma’am.  I left the ship in Auden’s command for the night.  I went to work with General Iroh for several hours.  I’m glad you two are here, because I wanted to tell you about something I found yesterday.”

All eyes were on Pax as he continued.  “When I was carrying Tuesday to sickbay, something started to fall out of her pocket, so I grabbed it.  At first, I thought it was a journal or book of hers, so I pocketed it, thinking I could give it to you once things calmed down.  When I left sickbay, you two were busy, and a little while later I pulled it out, having forgotten about it, and that’s when I noticed a symbol on the spine.  I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, though I knew I’d seen it before.  When I opened the book, my fears were confirmed.  It was a book of names… and notes,” he said, turning his gaze away, as if it hurt him to tell them this information.  “It has names of Red Lotus members; she must have found it and realized what it was when she was fighting against them.”

“With a registry of names we can put an end to the Red Lotus completely this time!” she said, anxious and ecstatic simultaneously.  “Where is it?”

He looked at them almost guiltily.  “I wanted to give it to you, but… the content.  I couldn’t bring myself… so I gave it to General Iroh to give to the Fire Lord.  I’m sorry, I just couldn’t do it and I don’t think Tuesday would have wanted me to either.  I apologize for getting involved, I know that wasn’t my job, but I feel it’s my duty as a human being and a waterbender to defend innocent people.”

Asami looked at her, fear and worry in her eyes.  There must have been something pretty bad in there to warrant him not giving it to them.  Korra gave her wife’s hand a reassuring squeeze.  “Thank you, Pax.  That was very considerate of you, and I’m not upset that you didn’t give it to us.  It’s in hands that will take care of it, and that’s all I could ask for.”  She was better off not having seen it, and she knew it.

For the first time since they’d arrived, he smiled a little, but it looked strained.  It left his face quickly, and his eyes dropped back down to the woman in his arms.  “Why hasn’t she woken up yet?”

Kya’s movements slowed as the session came to a close.  “I’m actually a little bit worried about that.  I’m afraid I’m missing something but I’ve been so thorough every time I can’t imagine what it could be.”

“Should I bring her out?” Pax asked.

“Stay there a bit longer,” Korra commanded politely.  She got herself situated and closed her eyes, preparing the water to scan.  The water around Tuesday’s head glowed bright blue and pulsed.  She tried to shut off all of her senses but one.  Using the water as an extension of herself, she needed to feel through the probe. 

Eyes closed, hands guiding the water, she searched for anything that might give her an idea as to why their friend hadn’t woken up yet.  In an initial pass, it truly seemed like everything was good, so she tried again, paying extra attention to where Tuesday had been hit.

Nothing.  Everything felt completely normal.

Then everyone in the room jumped three feet when Tuesday giggled.

Asami gasped then recovered the quickest out of everyone and surprised Korra by sliding into the pool and going straight to their friend.  “Tuesday?” 

Korra halted her probing, and sat perfectly still.  She didn’t even want to take a breath.

_Please oh please let her be awake._

Tuesday giggled again.  “My brain is ticklish, Korra.  Who’d have thought a brain could be ticklish?”

Hearing her voice was such a sweet, needed sound.

Next thing she knew, she was in the water with her wife, helping to pull Tuesday into their arms.  “Thank the Spirits you’re awake,” Asami told Tuesday.  “We’ve been so worried.”

“I’m starving.  Why are we all wet?”  Those stormy blue eyes finally looked at her for the first time in a day, and it nearly made her knees go out.

Pax burst out laughing, and Tuesday turned in surprise at the deep voice behind her.  “Pax?”  Korra watched her friend’s eyes groggily take in his perfectly sculpted muscles and his stupid bare chest.

He blushed. 

_I hate him!  He’s too adorable!  How can we compete against that?  Why do I have to like him?  Why does he have to be so damn good-looking AND a good person?_

“Hey, uh, I came by to check on you this morning, and Kya said she was going to do a healing session in the pool, and I knew that required someone to hold you, so… uh, I offered,” he said bashfully.  “I’m really glad you’re awake and you’re okay.”

She smiled.  “Thank you.”  She turned to face the women holding her, and Korra’s heart jumped into her throat as she looked back and forth between them.  “I’m so glad you two are okay,” she said softly.

“Us?  Spirits, Tuesday!” Asami said, her voice shaking with emotion.  It warmed and relieved her to see Asami’s feelings as invested as her own.  “We were worried sick!  After you were healed you slept so long.”

Tuesday rubbed her eyes then frowned as she remembered her hands were wet.  “I was catching up.  I didn’t really sleep the night before.”  The words drove a knife through her, even though she knew that wasn’t their frind’s intention.  “Can I… not be wet anymore?”

Kya chuckled from the side of the pool.  Korra wrapped her arm around Tuesday’s waist and pulled her up in the water high enough to reach underneath her knees.  She shivered when her friend’s hand came to rest against the bare flesh of her neck, even though she knew it was only for support. 

She carried Tuesday out of the pool and looked into those slate blue eyes she’d missed.  “Do you want to try standing?  I… I’ll hold on to you.”  Korra had almost forgotten how much she reacted to this woman. 

Tuesday’s eyes didn’t leave hers.  “Yeah, I’ll try.  Don’t let me fall, okay?”

_I think I want you to fall..._   “Never.”

She nodded, and Korra let down her feet.  She could tell as soon as they hit the ground that they were sturdy enough.  She smiled with relief.  Leaning up, she held Tuesday’s forearms steady and asked, “You feel okay?”

“Yes, well, I feel like I just slept… how long did I sleep?”

Asami had gotten out of the water and ambled over to them.  Pax was sitting on the edge of the pool, his feet still in the water.  “About a day,” he answered.

“Damn.  Between that much sleep and a rock against my head, it’s no wonder I feel so fuzzy.  And I’m prune-y.  And I’m hungry,” she rambled.  Pax chuckled in the background.

“You think you can stand on your own?  I’m going to bend the water out of all of our clothes,” she told Tuesday.

“Yes, thank you.”

“I’ll go get you something to eat,” Pax said, pulling himself the rest of the way out of the pool.  “Any requests?”

“Food,” she answered.  “Thank you, Pax.”

Asami giggled.  “She’s starting to sound like you, Korra.”

Korra grinned at the two women in front of her.  “Great minds think alike.”  She carefully let go of Tuesday’s forearms and made a few quick movements to pull the water from their clothing.

“Thank you,” she said.  “Will you walk with me?  I want to sit down, and I don’t quite yet trust my legs completely.  And,” she added, “It’s time for you guys to fill me in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like my current writing is suffering, and if it isn't suffering i'm in a block altogether...  
> ...stupid relationship problems messing with my head.


	53. Four Additions

 Only half of the day had passed, and Tuesday was already tired.  She figured sleeping for about twenty-four hours had quite a bit to do with her physical exhaustion, not to mention she’d been walking around the city most of the morning and half the afternoon.

After she had woken up this morning, Pax had brought her noodles, broth and fish from the galley.  Unfortunately she could only finish about a third of it before she started to feel too full, and not happy full- uncomfortable full, and it had a lot to do with her hazy head.  Korra and Asami had filled her in on everything that happened with the Red Lotus, including the fact that Pax had given the book she’d found to General Iroh, which brought her an immense amount of relief.  She was proud of the guy for thinking like her and realizing the book could be damaging in the hands of the Avatar and her loved ones.

Not much had floated through her mind while she was unconscious, but everything that had was hard for her to shake.  Although they were clouded, all of her bad memories, including the information she had read in that book and the near collision between her, Asami, and the truck had played on repeat.  Sleep wasn’t going to come easily to her for awhile, especially since she wasn’t exactly sure if she would ever be able to share a bed with the girls again, and they had consistently kept her nightmares driven away. 

On the other hand, the girls were acting like they had never locked their door that night.  Tuesday couldn’t help but think perhaps she’d been wrong in the way she had felt, that her sensing negativity regarding the situation had all been in her head.  After all, she was the one who had told them that if they needed privacy to take it and she wouldn’t be offended, yet that night, there she was, taking it personally.  She decided to push the memory of it all out of her mind and enjoy her girls, as that warm, familiar feeling she felt when she was around them the past week had been rejuvenated.

After she had eaten, the three of them took a taxi through the Royal Plaza to the city to the radio station to visit Mazzi.  She had been ecstatic to see them and promised to meet them there when she was done with work so she could take them to her favorite restaurant. 

Tuesday, Korra, and Asami decided to spend the remaining hours out and about to see what the city had to offer.  There were countless shops and business offices, and there was a different feel to the Fire Nation than what it was like in Republic City.  Her heart warmed at the thought of the manor, and a tear rolled down her cheek as she realized she was homesick.  It had become home.  Nowhere, not even her parent’s house, had felt like home since the loss of her family, but within the span of a week Republic City had grown on her unlike any other place ever had.  Not wanting the girls to see her tears, she quickly wiped her eyes. 

Asami was too sharp, however.  “Tuesday!  Are you all right?  Do you need to sit down?”

More tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she was hit with the epiphany in knowing these two women were the main reason Republic City was now her home.  Meeting them, shedding her emotional death shroud, discovering her airbending, finding purpose- she finally felt like she belonged somewhere.  “I’m okay… I’m just homesick.”

To her horror, both beautiful faces in front of her fell.  She sucked in a breath at the thought of the three of them not returning home, or worse, them asking her to leave the manor when they returned.  When Korra spoke, her sigh of relief must have confused them.

“You don’t want to stay with us anymore?” Korra asked.  The devastation on her face tore at Tuesday’s heart, but she couldn’t help but feel the relief and elation when she realized what they thought she’d meant.  Before she realized what she was doing, she had thrown herself at the two of them in an embrace.

“Are you kidding?  I want to live in Republic City forever!  I hope you two never kick me out of the manor.  I love it there.  I love…”

_Whoa.  Stop.  You almost went way too far._   Brilliant green and ocean blue eyes stared straight into her soul like they were waiting for something.  _Duh.  Find another ending to your statement, genius._

“…I love that it’s my home now.”  At least she wasn’t lying.

Was that disappointment she saw behind those two captivating pairs of eyes?  Before she could figure it out, wide smiles on their faces assured her she still had a home before Asami even spoke up.  “Thank goodness.  When you said you were homesick, I was afraid you wanted to leave this world altogether.”

“I thought you meant you wanted to move out of the manor,” Korra added.

How could she tell them how she felt without scaring them away from her?  Her shyness caused her gaze to fall to the ground, but her love and respect for them brought it back up to face them.  “I want to stay with you two for as long as you’ll let me.”

Tuesday wasn’t sure how much time passed as they stood there, arms around each other, gazes locked, as she was tremendously caught up in the moment.  It was all she could do not to scream at the top of her lungs that she wanted more from them, so much more than she knew they would ever give her.  The words pooled in her gut and lunged at her lips but she managed to swallow them down every time.  Never in her life had she ever desired the ability to read people’s thoughts until now because she wanted so desperately to know what they were thinking.

Her insides felt like they were collapsing.  She’d never felt this way before, not with Joel or Noelle, and here she was feeling this way about two people at once, a married couple at that.  Afraid her sweaty palms would soon give away her nerves she cleared her throat, closed her eyes, and reluctantly pulled out of the embrace. 

As she opened her eyes to ask them what they should do next- her attempt at keeping herself from confessing all of her feelings- something across the street caught her eye and answered the question for her.  A huge grin sprung up on her face and she grabbed Korra and Asami by their forearms and turned them around.  Pointing to a little shop, she informed them, “We’re going in there next!”

* * *

 

Every time Asami saw Mazzi, she felt a childlike excitement.  Such excitement caused her to pull her cousin into a hug as soon as she walked out of the station building to meet them for dinner.  Korra and Tuesday giggled as Mazzi pulled back to smile at her.  “What was that for?” she asked.

“I just still can’t get over that I have a cousin, so I suppose I got a little giddy,” she admitted.

Asami released Mazzi and the three of them began to follow her as she turned and headed west down the busy street.  A huge grin was plastered to her face as she said, “I know!  I never would have imagined, you know, because Mom never knew her family.  I never really considered looking for anyone because I figured it would not yield anything.  I’ll never be able to say thank you enough to this one.”  Mazzi reached out and rubbed Tuesday’s shoulder, prompting a deep blush to appear across their friend’s cheeks.

“Me either,” she agreed, feeling nothing but adoration for the curly-haired beauty walking next to her.  She watched as Mazzi’s eyes widened when they fell upon the fresh bandage on Tuesday’s arm.  “Tuesday!  What happened to your wrist?”

Korra met her gaze and laughed loudly as Tuesday held up her wrist with a bashful grin.  “I got a new tattoo.  My life has been amazing as of lately, and I wanted to represent that indelibly.  I’ll show you in about an hour when it’s time for the bandage to come off.”

Mazzi’s eyes widened as Korra rolled down her left arm sleeve and Asami lifted her hair off her shoulders and pulled down the edge of her collar to show their own white bandages.  She laughed at the look of surprise on her cousin’s face, but her look of surprise quickly morphed into one of approval.  “You know, I need to get a tattoo.  I’ve always said I was going to do it and I never have.”

“Do you have any idea what you would want to get?” Tuesday asked her.

“There are quite a few ideas I’ve thought of, but I wouldn’t know which one to start with,” Mazzi answered.

“We can go now if you’re up to it,” Korra suggested. 

A smile graced her face as she shook her head and placed her hand on her belly.  “I’m famished.  I’d much rather eat first,” Mazzi said.  “After I see you guys’ tattoos maybe I’ll be ready to make a decision about my own.”

Asami felt Korra’s hand squeeze hers, and she turned to smile at her wife.  It brought her so much joy to just be in the company of these women.  “So where are we headed?” she asked.

“I hope you like meat,” Mazzi chuckled.  “We’re going to the best open spit grill in the whole capital!”

* * *

 

Korra was in paradise.

At this place, people brought her meat that had been cooked on a spit and carved it tableside and put it on her plate.  Any meat you could think of, they had it, some of it sweet, some of it savory, some of it spicy, some of it smoky.  And there were grilled fruits and vegetables too, and different kinds of rices and grains…

“I could die happy right now,” she shared with the table.  “But I would need a nap first.”

Asami groaned as she rested a hand against her food baby.  “I’m never eating meat again.  It was so much… meat.”

Tuesday snorted and looked at Mazzi.  “This one’s a lightweight,” she stated, pointing at Asami. 

“I am.  I surrender.”

Korra chuckled quietly.  “She’s not as used to all that meat like we are.”

“No, I most definitely am not,” Asami sighed.  “I usually eat like I still visit Air Temple Island every day.”  Korra watched her wife as she ran her hands up under her hair and winced, forgetting the tattoo she’d gotten a few hours prior.

Tuesday noticed as well.  “It’s time for the bandages to come off,” she informed them.  “Who’s going first?”  Everyone grinned and sat forward in excitement, as no one had seen each other’s tattoo yet.

Asami wasn’t surprised to see Korra eagerly be the first to show as she pulled down her left arm sleeve and removed her bandage.  Right above the inside of her elbow, across her bicep and deep blue in color was the circular symbol of the Water Tribes- a crescent moon on the left and three waves on the right.  Tuesday beamed and Asami gasped as she declared, “Korra, it’s beautiful!  I think that was the perfect choice for your first tattoo.”  It pleased her greatly to hear and see the approval of Asami and Tuesday even though the tattoo was for her.  She had her very own piece of sentimentality with her permanently. 

“Let’s see yours, Babe,” she asked of her wife.  She looked on in anticipation as Asami quickly swept her hair back and lifted the bandage from the back of her neck.  A sly grin spread across her face as she revealed the small, peculiar looking symbol.  It was a tiny box with a line cutting it in half diagonally with two dots in one half and a squiggly line outside the box on its right side.

“This is the engineering symbol for a pressure switch,” her wife explained to the table.  _So that’s what she was drawing for the tattoo artist back at the studio!_ “I wanted something very unique to me that I figured no one else would have,” she said.

“I love it,” Tuesday chimed in.  Her wife grinned at their close friend and her cousin.  “I’ve certainly never seen one like it.”

“Me either,” Korra spoke up.  “It’s very you.”

“Its size and placement are sexy.”

Korra’s eyes immediately left her wife’s tattoo and landed on Tuesday’s blushing face, and Asami dropped her hair and turned to meet their friend’s gaze.  The shy smile on her love’s face and the airbender’s answering bashful grin immediately caused her heart to race.

_I don’t know how much more of this I can handle._

A throat cleared, and Korra snapped out of her trance to find Mazzi looking at the three of them peculiarly. 

_This is what my father was talking about.  We have to be more careful!_

She hastily cleared her own throat and changed the expression on her face from one of longing to one of intrigue.  “Let’s see yours now, Tuesday.”

Their friend placed her hand on the bandage secured to her wrist but hesitated.  She looked at Asami before turning her gaze to the Avatar.  With a look in her eye that Korra read as worry, Tuesday sighed and removed the bandage with apprehension.  She extended her arm towards the center of the table.

“A blue lotus!  It’s beautiful.  Your artist did a great job!”  Mazzi was the first to speak, but Tuesday’s eyes were on her, and it was in that moment, without words that she understood at least part of what her friend’s new tattoo represented.  She spared a glance at her wife to find understanding tears brimming in her eyes.  Mazzi was the only one who was out of the loop, and she noticed.  “What am I missing?” she asked softly.

A small smile accompanied the faint pink tinge on Tuesday’s face.  “Since I met Korra and Asami, my life has done a one-eighty,” she started, and Korra felt a surge of positive emotions rush through her.  “Where I come from, the blue lotus is a symbol of enlightenment, liberation, and rebirth.”  The airbender set her gaze on her and Asami.   “Knowing you two has changed me for the better and you’ve helped me feel those things in a way I’ve never experienced before.  And this might sound silly, but the White Lotus exists to protect the Avatar, while the Red Lotus… well… nevermind them.  But I thought maybe this blue lotus could also mean something more.  So this is my own Blue Lotus, and for me it means I will always protect you, Korra.”

Asami had somehow managed to keep her tears from falling up until this moment, and Korra melted at the softness in her wife’s voice as she spoke directly to Tuesday.  “As soon as I saw it I knew what you meant by it.”  The smile she gave their friend was worth a million yuans.

As for her, the feelings that ran rampant inside of her were both wonderful and frightening.  “Tuesday… I don’t know what to say.  It’s not silly at all.  I’m so flattered, but I’m the Avatar.  It’s my job to protect everyone.”

Her heart clenched when she saw the pain in her friend’s stormy blue eyes.  “That may be true, but that doesn’t mean I can’t vow to protect you.  You’re my friend, Korra, not just the Avatar.  You’re Asami’s wife, and Naga’s human, and Senna and Tonraq’s daughter.  You’re Korra, and I will help to protect you for as long as I live.”

Korra reached out and pulled Tuesday into a tight embrace.  In such a short amount of time she had grown to love this woman, and any thought of how that could possibly be was overpowered by the selflessness she had shown by saving not just her wife’s life but potentially her’s as well.  It was quite possible she had also saved future Avatars by recognizing that book for what it was.

“Okay.  You can protect me, but only if you’ll let me protect you, too,” she mumbled into Tuesday’s curls.

“Deal.”

A third and fourth pair of arms surrounded them, and Korra found herself unable to fathom the sheer abundance of elation she felt.

Asami’s voice was muffled as she said, “While we’re here experiencing all these wonderful feelings, Mazzi, there’s something we want to ask you.”  Korra pulled back to watch the interaction, and the other women followed suit.

Asami’s cousin looked pleasantly puzzled as she simply replied, “Go on.”

“Come back to Republic City with us.”

Mazzi’s face took on a look similar to one of a cat deer caught in headlights.  Korra felt her emotional high take a plummet.  “You don’t have to stay if you aren’t happy there,” she interjected, hoping to ease any worries her wife’s cousin might be feeling.  “We have a loft that we haven’t slept in for ages that has a lot of sentimental value, so we don’t want to sell it…”

Asami chimed in.  “… So we were thinking you could stay there until you decide for sure what you want.  I just thought it would be really nice if we could be there for each other since we’re the only biological family we have left.” 

The sadness in her wife’s voice pulled at her heartstrings.  Korra grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together.

All eyes were on Mazzi, who was obviously considering the offer.  Korra felt the grin break out on her face as Asami’s cousin’s lips stretched into a wide smile.  “You know,” she began, “This place is my home, but I haven’t really been happy here since Mom died.  I love the station but I could really use a change.”

“We’re opening a concert venue.  You could work with me,” Tuesday beamed.

“You don’t need to try to convince me anymore.  I’m on board.”

 Korra felt as though her heart couldn’t hold any more happiness as Mazzi declared her decision.  A few tears of joy fell from her wife’s beautiful, bright green eyes as she and Mazzi quickly settled into making plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yesterday I got to thinking it would be really neat if I knew what you guys' favorite parts of the story were so far. As always, I appreciate hearing anything all of you have to say. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.  
> Much <3,  
> DoD


	54. Realization, Recollection, and Reassurance

When Korra, Asami, and Tuesday stepped into the conference room on the ship, it erupted into applause.   Tuesday grinned and stepped aside, joining in on the applause for her two friends.

It was then she realized everyone was looking at her.

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she put her hands up and began to shake her head.  She tried to protest but words failed her.  She was blindsided as Bolin swept in from the side and lifted her into an embrace.  “Looks like Team Avatar has a new member, people!” he exclaimed to the room.  A fresh round of cheers, Korra and Asami booming the loudest, echoed off the walls and rang loudly in her beet red ears.

When Bolin (finally) placed her on her feet, she looked up to meet Pax’s emerald gaze.  He was standing quietly in the back of the room, that ridiculous grin on his handsome face, his perfect hair pulled up in a perfect man bun.   Much like how it was with Korra and Asami, his gorgeousness never ceased to stun her.  Was that the reason for her infatuation with him?  Unlike how it was with her girls, she did not love him.  But for as much as she wanted to deny it, there was no point in trying- she was heavily attracted to him.

_Now is not the time to think about this.  Everyone is staring at me!_

Tuesday felt her panic begin to rise- luckily it had taken its time in arriving- but now that she had acknowledged its existence the feeling was starting to escalate.  Seeking comfort, her eyes fell to the two women who she had to remind herself in that very moment were her anchors.

To say the look on Korra’s face was one of pride would be an understatement.  Those captivating ocean blue eyes were shiny as the Avatar beamed at her.  Asami’s bright green eyes held so much gratitude that all of the anxiety and negativity that had started to creep up inside of her was quickly washed away.

Huge, warm arms embraced her from the side.  She turned her head, expecting Pax, but instead she found Tonraq.

“You have now saved both of my girls,” he said, and she was fascinated by how gently a mountain of a man like Tonraq could speak.  She returned his embrace as he continued.  “Saying thank you will never be enough.”

She pulled back from Tonraq to look into his deep blue eyes.  “It’s always enough when the person saying it means it,” she informed him with a genuine smile. 

The massive man clapped his wheel of a hand onto her shoulder and turned to the rest of the room.  “We all owe this woman thanks.  She followed her instincts and it paid off.  It nearly cost her her life, but she fought to protect the Avatar… my daughter…” Tonraq’s booming voice cracked just the slightest bit, but he cleared his throat and continued, “I know I’m not the only one who is grateful to have met you, Tuesday.”

“Hear, hear!” Wing and Wei exclaimed in unison, and the crowd fell upon her.

Before her nerves could get the best of her, she felt Asami’s tender hands on her shoulders and Korra’s warm, strong arm wrap around her waist.  They were there to back her up, and Tuesday’s heart felt like bursting at the thought that they may very well always be there. 

* * *

 

Pax really was an incredibly handsome man.

It wasn’t hard for Asami to see why Tuesday was interested in him.  He was personable, kind, and compassionate.  He was also a damn fine employee, always willing to take the trips other captains didn’t feel like making, and he always did it with a smile on his face. 

 Asami absentmindedly twisted the end of one of Tuesday’s many curls around her fingertips as she inconspicuously looked back and forth between her employee and her friend.  Pax couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off her, but in his defense he sure was trying.

Tuesday would catch him looking at times, and Asami had to play it cool when her cheeks turned the slightest bit pink.  Not only did the blush induce one of her own, but she had to fight down the microscopic twinge of jealousy she felt.  Again she thought about how she most certainly couldn’t berate Korra for it if she was guilty of it herself. 

Her wife was currently adorably oblivious to the glances being exchanged between Tuesday and Pax.  Korra, Lin, Su, and Tonraq were deep in conversation- possibly regarding the trials taking place the next day- and as usual Korra’s hands and arms were moving about as she spoke passionately about something.  She couldn’t help but grin as a result.  It was one of the infinite reasons she loved Korra.

“When do you think you knew?”

Asami’s attention snapped to the curly-haired beauty sitting next to her.  “Knew what, sweetie?” she answered, relishing in the subtle blush and bashful grin she received from using the term of endearment.

“When did you realize you were in love with Korra?” she asked softly.

This was a question she’d been asked before by several of their friends as well as by Korra.  “Well, I felt drawn to her immensely right from the start.  It was because of her strength, her bravery, her passion, her selflessness.  Nothing about that changed when I found out she liked Mako.  Through all of that I never once blamed Korra, and thankfully she never blamed me.”

“Over time, we grew closer, but it was shortly after her battle with UnaVaatu when we really started spending a lot of time together.  It wasn’t long until Bolin and Mako were feeling a little left out because when they found one of us they found the other.  We were almost inseperable.”  She chuckled to herself as she remembered Mako’s pouty awkwardness and Bolin’s badgering.

“It was around that time the realization hit me that Korra meant more to me than anyone else, that she was the most important person in my life.  Then one day, during a driving lesson, she used the word ‘girlfriend’, and though the word can be used two ways, I realized my feelings were more than platonic when she said it.  I had a crush on my best friend.”

“It wasn’t a shock for me as far as sexuality goes; I already knew I was attracted to both men and women.  But not realizing the crush for what it was, that was the shock.  Maybe, subconsciously, I didn’t feel worthy of her romantically and that was what wouldn’t allow me to see everything for what it was.  But at that point I couldn’t get it out of my head.  I had always thought Korra was gorgeous, but it was after I accepted how I felt that I caught myself stealing glances at her, daydreaming about her, and I loathed, I simply HATED every time I had to leave her or her me.  But I had no idea if Korra felt the same way I did, and I was too scared to say anything because I didn’t want to lose her as a friend.”  _Which is also the very reason we haven’t told you how we feel about you._

Asami paused for a moment, remembering back to the day they crashed the airship in the Si Wong Desert.  She felt her own light blush tint her cheeks.  “Remember when we told you about the sand shark in the desert?”  Tuesday nodded once to answer.  “When we were repairing the airship then making the sand-sailer… I caught myself watching her work.”  A deeper blush began to creep up her neck, and she could tell Tuesday noticed which only darkened the crimson now fully coloring her face.  “My mouth went dry, my palms were sweaty… and it wasn’t because we were in the desert.  That was the day I knew there was no going back for me.”  She lowered her voice and leaned a little closer to Tuesday.  “I had fantasized about many things involving Korra… cuddling with her, holding her hand, kissing her… but that day in the desert I found myself wondering what she looked like… well, devoid of any clothing.”

 _I can’t believe I just told her that._   “Things got very real for me that day.”  She gathered the nerve to look at Tuesday and she found their friend blushing profusely with a small but no so innocent smile on her face.  However, all good feelings flew out the window as she thought about where she was in her tale.

Asami paused and swallowed thickly.  “The day I realized I loved her, that I was IN LOVE with her was the day she gave herself over to Zaheer.  When she announced to us that she was going to sacrifice herself, my heart just… broke.  My chest physically ached.  Terror seized me.  I could only imagine what she was feeling.  I wanted to steal her and run away with her and let the world fall apart around us.  The thought that I might not see her again shook me to my core.”

Tuesday brushed away the single tear that had managed to escape her eye.  “Thank you,” she whispered, looking into those stormy blue eyes that recognized the pain on her face.  Those eyes had seen so much pain, too.  She dropped Tuesday’s curls and reached for her hand.  The musician’s hand was as warm and strong as she was.  Asami felt a reassuring squeeze from their friend and continued.

“When Korra was captured… I had never been so angry or scared in my whole life.  I had never felt a fire in me like I did that day.  I couldn’t directly help Korra, so I fixated on the one thing she had told us before she surrendered.  ‘Help me save the airbenders.  Then you can worry about saving me.’”  Asami choked back the tears that were threatening to fall, and she felt Tuesday’s hand tighten around her own once again.

“That was my only goal.  Do what she asked of me so that I could get to her.  But I didn’t get to her in time, and it tore me in two.  Watching her fight with Zaheer, then seeing her fall… her lying on the ground broken… it broke me.  Even the hurt I felt the day I fought my father couldn’t compare to the pain I felt seeing Korra like that.”

She paused to collect herself before the panic could rise any further in her chest.  _It’s in the past, Asami.  Look at your very healthy, happy, present wife._   Her gaze drifted over to Korra, whose arms were still flailing about as she discussed spirits knew what with their family.  The sight calmed her, and she turned back to Tuesday.

“So, sadly, the answer to your question is that I discovered I loved her when I thought I’d lost her for good.” _I’m sensing a pattern here,_ she thought.  “I truly believe I loved her all along, but it took some time to realize it.  Also, it was the three years she was gone that made me realize that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.  I tried to open myself up to date others, but nothing felt right.  She was all I thought about, so I threw myself into my work to try and distract myself, but it didn’t help.  I must have written her a thousand letters.”

Silence sat between the two of them for a few moments before Tuesday spoke up.  “It doesn’t matter how long it took either of you to realize.  Point is you’re together now, and you’re the most beautiful couple I’ve ever known- in every way.  And now all of us,” she gestured around the room with her free hand, “are many and much too strong against anyone or anything that wants to try and take her from us.”

The question fell from her lips without her realizing.  “Why would you sacrifice yourself for people you just met?”

Tuesday’s eyes widened.  Asami easily noticed the quickened rise and fall of her friend’s chest.  Not knowing why the new airbender was panicking but not wanting it to get worse, she gently turned towards Tuesday and took her other hand before giving them both a reassuring squeeze.  Blue grey eyes searched her face, but for what, she couldn’t put her finger on it.  The beauty took a deep breath and exhaled.

“You two… have changed my life.  You’ve saved me.  This world and all of you… your family… are amazing.  Everything has happened so quickly that if I think too much about it I tell myself I must have gone crazy… that I’m locked up in a straightjacket in a padded room back in Massachusetts.  But everything I feel assures me that I’m really here.”  She took another deep breath, and Asami couldn’t help but notice the guitarist’s palms were getting damp.  _She’s especially adorable when she’s nervous_ , she thought to herself.  “Every morning that I wake up with the two of you next to me, I have to pinch myself.  But it’s real.  And the two of you are healing me piece by piece every day.  Why wouldn’t I fight for that?”

Asami smiled, feeling such adoration, and in turn she received a dazzling grin from their new friend.  Tuesday’s words gave her the feeling that she and Korra would never have to worry about losing her.


	55. Closer

As the group filed out of the ship’s conference room, Korra noticed Pax leaning against the side of ship.  His eyes were searching for someone, and she knew who he was looking for.

The high that she’d been riding on ever since Tuesday woke up that morning dissipated at the thought that she might go off with him again.  As much as she knew she shouldn’t stand in the way of what Tuesday wanted, all SHE wanted was Asami and Tuesday with her.

_You’re being selfish, Korra.  You have to let her do what she wants._   She recalled what she and Asami had talked about that morning… they would not push or pull Tuesday.  If she wanted to be around them, she’d come to them, right?

She waited outside the door opposite of Pax.  Asami and Tuesday were two of the last to file out.  As they did, she watched as Tuesday noticed Pax and smiled.

As much as she liked Pax, her heart sank, and she felt horrible for being so unhappy at their pleasant exchange.  She searched her wife’s beautiful face and wasn’t surprised to see the disappointment she found there.  Asami moved towards her and wrapped her arms around her.

“I don’t want to watch her leave with him tonight.  Can we just go to our room?” Asami asked quietly.

Korra simply nodded.  She didn’t want to watch, either, but it was almost as if she couldn’t look away.

Pax had approached Tuesday and pulled her aside.  She wasn’t fully certain of what was being said, but she could guess that he was asking her to go with him.  As Asami started to pull her away, she watched as Tuesday’s gaze turned toward them.  She planted her feet and held on tight to her wife’s hand.  Those slate blue eyes were telling her to stay put.

She watched as Tuesday turned to Pax and said something.  He returned the conversation, but Korra couldn’t make out what he said.  The airbender’s gaze fell to the ship’s deck and she shook her head.  Pax’s face fell.  Korra’s chest tightened.  Was she telling him no?

It appeared she was.

Tuesday reached out to squeeze Pax’s hand, and he flashed that gorgeous grin of his at her before saying something that caused their new friend to return his smile.  Korra read Tuesday’s lips as she told Pax good night, and he swept her up in his massive arms for a hug, one that she did return.

The Avatar decided to not think much about that.  Tuesday had told him no, after all.  She had chosen to come with them, and nothing could dampen Korra’s spirits regarding that.  She squeezed her wife’s hand before turning her gaze towards her.  Asami’s face lit up as she saw Tuesday walking towards them.

Korra realized she’d been holding her breath and let out an exhale as their curly-haired airbender bashfully walked up to them.  Asami now stood pressed against her side, her arm wrapped around her waist.

“Hey,” Tuesday stated simply.

“Hi,” Korra answered.  _Spirits, aren’t we an articulate bunch?_

“So… um… I was wondering,” she began, but Asami cut in.

“Tuesday,” she whispered.  Korra recognized the emotion in her wife’s voice.  She felt Asami pull her towards Tuesday, and it took her a second to realize she wanted an embrace of her own.  The two of them surrounded the musician and pulled her close.  A collective sigh escaped the three of them, and Korra melted into the warmth that eminated from their affection.

“Will you stay with us tonight?” she didn’t even realize she was asking until it was over.  She didn’t care if Tuesday noticed the longing in her voice.  In fact, she hoped she did notice.

Without hesitation, they received an answer.

“That’s the only thing in this world I want right now.”

* * *

 

The crowd had dispersed, but even if they hadn’t, Asami wouldn’t care what they saw or thought.  As the three of them walked silently, hand in hand, towards their room, she felt nervous, excited, and elated all at once.  Tonight felt different, and she had a feeling it was because of the discussion she and Korra had had over an unconscious Tuesday that morning.

She recalled her thoughts from three evenings prior to tonight.  She remembered thinking the bed holding the three of them so closely together was a land mine.  If it felt like that before, she could only imagine what tonight would be like having realized their true feelings.

Throughout the day Asami had come to the conclusion that their feelings towards Tuesday were reciprocated, but to what extent, she wasn’t sure.  Uttering the words ‘we love you’ may very well send her towards the hills.  _No_ , she thought _, this is something that is going to have to be eased into.  And tonight, she chose to come with us.  We’ll take this one moment at a time._

They entered the room and Asami hung up her jacket by the door.  Upon turning around she found Tuesday applying tattoo cream to her blue lotus and Korra peeling off her arm sleeves.  She sat on the edge of the bed and watched as the airbender silently walked to her wife’s side and rubbed a small dollop of the ointment onto her arm.  It wasn’t hard to spot the color that crept across Tuesday’s cheeks as pale fingers massaged the dark skin on Korra’s bicep.  The Avatar’s eyes watched first her gentle movements before turning her gaze to their friend’s face.  Asami watched as her wife’s cyan eyes moved over Tuesday’s face as if she was trying to memorize every nuance of it.

“All done,” she said softly to Korra, looking up to find that her attention was on her face and not on her own arm and blushing profusely at the realization.  Asami couldn’t help but grin.  Tuesday stammered, “Asami’s turn,” before turning towards her.

She swept her hair to the side as the airbender approached her.  She squeezed the tiny dollop of ointment onto the tip of her finger but hesitated.  “Would you like to put this on?” she asked meekly.

Noting the beauty’s apprehension, she decided to lighten the mood.  The tension in the room wasn’t negative by any means, but it was still present, and she didn’t want Tuesday having any reason to feel uncomfortable.  “I’m envious!” she chuckled.  “Korra gets special treatment, but I don’t?”

Her lightheartedness worked.  Their friend giggled and plopped next to Asami before administering the cream to her tattoo.  She fixated on the blue grey eyes of the airbender, the lightly freckled cheeks that were still tinted by her blush, the full, pink lips so near to her.  It wasn’t hard for her thoughts to turn lascivious in nature when in such close proximity to their woman of desire.

_Calm down, Asami.  This isn’t the time or the place to get carried away, no matter how much you want to._   She turned her gaze to her wife as Tuesday finished rubbing the ointment into her skin.  “So what were you discussing with Tonraq and Lin that had you talking with your hands?” she inquired.

Korra sat down on the other side of Tuesday before answering.  “They think it is best we don’t go to the trials tomorrow.”

This surprised her.  “What?  Why?”

Her wife’s gaze landed on Tuesday for a split second before returning to her.  “They’re afraid too much will be said, especially when they reveal the book that Tuesday found.  The Red Lotus is aware of how broken I was from the last encounter.  Dad doesn’t want me to hear about information inside of that book in fear of it triggering my past.”

“Well in that case, he shouldn’t be there either,” she pointed out.  “Otherwise everything you did to protect us will be in vain,” she said as she nodded towards Tuesday.

“I CAN understand where he’s coming from, Korra,” their friend stated.

The Avatar looked taken aback.  “I’m surprised to hear you say that.  I would think you would want to see them receive their justice with your own eyes, considering they nearly killed you!”

Tuesday’s eyes grew wide.  Korra hadn’t yet spoken to her in such a manner before.  “Please understand, Korra.  I do want to see justice served, but it isn’t worth opening old wounds for you.  I know they’re going to get what they deserve.  And they don’t deserve to breathe the same air as you.  Honestly, I would much rather we didn’t go.  I’m sorry if you don’t agree with me.”

Her wife took a deep breath.  Other than herself, there weren’t many people who could talk the Avatar down when she was upset about something.  Tuesday was apparently someone who could.

“Asami, what do you think?”

“I agree with them.  It wasn’t something I’d thought about before, but they’re right, and Tuesday is right.  It isn’t worth making you revisit what happened.  I trust the courts will do what is right, and I don’t need to be there to see it.  I just need to know it happened.”

Asami watched as her wife pondered over this for a moment.  Korra’s eyes found Tuesday’s.  She spoke softly and with pain in her voice.

“They hurt you.  They nearly took you from us.  I want to see them pay.”

Tuesday took the Avatar’s hand before reaching out and grabbing one of hers.  She leaned her forehead against Korra’s.  “They will pay, Korra, but it means more to me to have you sane and whole, and we can achieve that by not going.  They’ll be expecting us to go, after all, and I wouldn’t put it past them to bring up what happened to you or… other things.  Besides, I find resolve in knowing I won’t have to look at them again, and you’re safe.  That’s enough for me.  Can that please be enough for you?”

Korra pulled back from Tuesday and ocean blue eyes met stormy blue eyes.  Asami felt warmth spread through her as an understanding smile touched her wife’s lips.  “It can.  It is.  You’re right.  But I’m telling Dad he can’t go either.  Asami is right.  I won’t let what you did to protect him be for nothing.”

Asami pulled the two of them into an embrace.  “It’s settled, then.  Why don’t we go see Mazzi tomorrow and help her pack instead?  We’ll talk to everyone in the morning and invite whoever wants to come.  She’s going to have to get acquainted with the family before too long anyway.  And honestly, our lot has suffered enough trauma for a lifetime.  Let’s leave this one to the courts,” she stated with authority in her voice.  “Come on.  Let’s go to bed.  I’m exhausted.”

* * *

 

There was such a thing as torture, because Tuesday was currently experiencing it.

Okay, it wasn’t really torture, but what else could she call lying in between two unbelievably gorgeous women she was head over heels for?  She’d even tried to argue that it wasn’t her night for the middle, but the three of them had wrestled about whilst giggling until Asami and Korra had pinned her in between them.

She hadn’t really tried that hard.

If sexual tension could kill, she’d be a smoldering pile of ashes in between two smoking hot bodies.  But as they settled into comfort, there was something more important on her mind.

After the light had been extinguished, she turned herself so that she was nestled on her back between her friends.  Tuesday placed her hands on their arms that stretched across her belly. 

Looking first at Asami in the pale moonlight, then Korra, she expressed a thought that had been on her mind all day.

“I haven’t properly thanked either of you for caring for me when I was hurt.  Korra… thank you for carrying me to safety and helping Kya heal me, and Asami,” she turned to the raven haired beauty whose hair shone in the moonlight, “thank you for going for help and holding me during healing and watching over me while I slept.  I’m sorry for giving you both a scare.”

“Tuesday!” started Asami, “Why on earth are you apologizing to us for getting hurt?”

“Yeah,” Korra chipped in.  “It’s not like you asked for that to happen!  And I don’t know for sure what you saw in those tunnels, but I have an idea, and if I’m at all right, you saved me.  You’ve done more for us than you realize.”

Well, no, she had a very good idea what she had spared the Avatar from experiencing.  She could only hope to forget the underground room that was unforgivingly ingrained in her memory.  She recalled what Korra had said earlier about the Red Lotus knowing how her last encounter with them broke her.  Tuesday knew that was why they had planned to attempt it again.

It was worth the rock she took to her head.  She reached up and gently touched her new scar with her fingertips.

“You’re going to have to get used to the fact that we’re going to protect and care for you as much as you do for us,” Asami said softly.

“I still hope the two of you know how much it means to me that you took care of me.  And I’ll never stop thanking you,” she retorted.  “And tomorrow I intend to thank Lin, Kya, and Tonraq, too.”

“They know how much we care about you, Tuesday.  They’re on your side.  They’re going to protect you, too,” Korra stated.

A feeling she didn’t recognize started burning in her chest before radiating throughout her entire being.  It took her a moment to realize it was the feeling of having a family.  It was so much at once that a sob escaped her throat and tears practically jumped out of her eyes.

“Hey, Tuesday,” Asami said, pulling her even closer, if that were at all possible.  “What’s wrong?”

It took a moment of catching her breath and calming herself to answer.  “I feel like I have a family again.  Not only do I have something to fight for, I have people to fight for.  I have purpose.  And there’s people that want to fight for me too… and it’s just so overwhelming after everything I’ve been through.  I never thought I’d feel like this again.”

“I already told you you’re stuck with us,” Korra said.  “That means all of us.  I hope you know that.”

_Oh, Korra, if you only knew how I felt._   “Please don’t change your mind,” was all she could say.

“Never,” answered the Avatar, and Tuesday reached over to embrace her.  She felt Asami snuggle up against her back, and she settled happily into the position.

For several minutes the only sound in the room was of her sniffles.  As the norm since meeting these two women, her thoughts and emotions were all over the place.  It was Korra who broke the silence.

“Tuesday?”

“Mmm?”

“I miss your singing.”

Tuesday chuckled quietly.  “I’m sorry, darling.”

“Will you sing to us?”  The question fell softly from Asami’s lips.

“Without music?  Well… okay.”  She’d sung a cappella before, but her shyness and lack of an instrument to hide behind generally caused a bit more anxiety than she cared to feel.  But then again, these were her girls, and she’d do anything for them.

A song choice came to her very easily.

_Stars shining bright above you_  
_Night breezes seem to whisper “I love you”_  
 _Birds singin’ in the sycamore tree_  
 _Dream a little dream of me_

_Say “nighty-night” and kiss me_  
_Just hold me tight and tell me you’ll miss me_  
 _While I’m alone and blue as can be_  
 _Dream a little dream of me_

_Stars fading but I linger on, dear_  
_Still craving your kiss_  
 _I’m longing to linger till dawn, dear_  
 _Just saying this_

_Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you_  
_Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you_  
 _But in your dreams whatever they be_  
 _Dream a little dream of me_

_Stars fading but I linger on, dear_  
_Still craving your kiss_  
 _I’m longing to linger till dawn, dear_  
 _Just saying this_

_Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you_  
_Sweet dreams that leave all worries far behind you_  
 _But in your dreams whatever they be_  
 _Dream a little dream of me_  



	56. Transpirations...

Their morning began with Nika knocking on their door.

“Hey Avatar!  Boss!  Do you guys know where Tuesday is?  We’re gathering for the race!  You guys in?”

The event spurred mass chaos as Tuesday jumped out of the bed and ran behind the door so Asami could answer Nika.  The engineer opened the door and flashed her gorgeous grin.  “Please, Nika, call me Asami.  Tuesday is probably hiding somewhere.  She’s good at that.”

Asami heard Tuesday’s almost silent chuckle from behind the door.

“As for the race, you bet.  How soon is everyone meeting?”

“About a half an hour from now, at the starting line.  If you guys see Tuesday, will you tell her?” Nika inquired.

Now Korra was in the background failing horribly at holding in her snicker.  Asami closed the door a bit more to hide her.  “Absolutely.  We’ll be there.”

“Okay!  See you then.”  Nika turned to leave and Asami closed the door.  She placed her hands on her nightgown clad hips and looked back and forth between her two loves. 

“Really, you two?  You couldn’t be quiet for thirty seconds?”  She tried putting on a firm face and sounding authoritative, but it wasn’t working.  Their cuteness and childlike auras made it impossible to stay even remotely upset with them.  She didn’t even get an answer, unless she counted their giggles.

She shuffled back to the bed with Tuesday in tow.  Honestly, this was one of those mornings she could lay in bed with them for hours and just cuddle and talk.  _Then again,_ she thought, _I could do that every morning.  We’ll enjoy more mornings like that when we get home._   For today, she had promised to be at the starting line and they had decided to go talk to Tonraq before going to Mazzi’s to start packing.  She looked at the bed and sighed.  “As much as I want to climb back in there, we should get moving.  Half an hour doesn’t give us much time for yoga.  Plus we have to pretend to have spent time looking for Tuesday.”

Her girls giggled.  She felt her face light up in a grin.

“How about I just show up separately?  I can say I met you two in passing and that I’d been hanging out up in the lines,” Tuesday suggested.

Asami nodded.  She turned her gaze to her wife.  “You want to join us for yoga this morning, Babe?”

“Nope,” Korra answered as she hopped out of bed.  “I’m going to go find Dad and talk to him, that way after the race we can shower and head into town.  I’d like to go for breakfast at that little bakery we found yesterday before heading to your cousin’s, if that sounds good with you two.”

Tuesday nodded enthusiastically.  Asami’s heart swelled with emotion at the ease in which she fit with them.  “It sounds wonderful.  Tuesday, time for yoga, and you,” she swatted at Korra’s firm backside, “go find Dad.”

* * *

 

“Korra, I have to be there!  I’m Chief of the Southern Water Tribe!”

“Says who?” she asked.  Her father was not someone she liked to argue with, and that’s because he usually won.  However, this question seemed to throw him for a loop.

“Well… no one in particular says I must be there, but that’s part of what I do.  I attend to worldly matters on behalf of my tribe.  And this matter was sort of personal, in case you’ve forgotten,” he retorted.

Korra decided to use her polar bear dog puppy eyes.  “I know how you feel.  I’m supposed to be involved in all worldly affairs also, and I want to be there to see the jerk that hurt Tuesday pay.  I want to see them all pay.  But Asami pointed something out to me yesterday.  If they say anything about what is in that book, it’s going to be too much for us to hear.  I know it could very well cause me to relapse into that dark place I was in for three years, and I refuse to let that happen because I don’t want to ever feel that way or distance myself from everyone ever again.  Tuesday kept you away from that room for a reason.  Don’t let it be for nothing.  She was protecting us.”

Tonraq looked out at the horizon.  He sighed deeply before turning his deep blue eyes back to face her.  “All right, Korra.  I won’t go.”

Before she could express her happiness at his answer, Lin strolled up.

“Won’t go where?” she asked.

“Korra has talked me out of going to the trials.”

Lin turned towards her.  “Kid… he has to go.  He’s a world leader.”  Korra wanted to throw a bowl of Flamey-O’s in her face.

“But why?  I’m… sort of… a world leader, and I’m not going!  He’s not a member of the courts, and what if they talk about what’s inside that book?  It’s bad enough to speculate what’s in there, but to hear it?  You don’t get it, Lin.  You don’t have children.”

“Korra!” the anger in Tonraq’s voice was apparent.

 _Okay, that was harsh._   “I’m sorry, Lin.  That was uncalled for.  It had to be put into perspective for me to understand, but I don’t want Dad to hear those things.  And Tuesday fought to keep him from being exposed to it.  Don’t you see?”

Lin’s gaze was uncharacteristically soft as she placed her worn hand on Korra’s shoulder.  “I do see, kid, really I do.  I understand where you’re coming from.  I don’t need to have children of my own to see it.  You know I… I care deeply for you girls and your team and Tenzin and Pema’s kids too.  But this is part of his job.  He should be there to gather the information in order to relay it back to his nation.  The world hates and fears the Red Lotus.  They want to hear that they’re finished.”

Korra was defeated.  “I don’t see why he physically needs to be there for that,” she mumbled.

“Trust me, kid.  He should be there.  And I swear to you Su and I will make sure he doesn’t hear anything he doesn’t need to hear.”

“Fine,” she stated.  “If my Father hears anything he shouldn’t, I’m holding you personally responsible.”  She trudged away from them, grumbling to herself as she heard Lin and Tonraq chuckling behind her.

* * *

 

Tuesday saw Korra approaching them and mumbled to Asami, “It doesn’t look like the conversation with Tonraq went very well.”

“Korra, what happened?” Asami asked.

“I had Dad convinced he shouldn’t go and then LIN showed up!” she huffed.  “She said she’ll make sure he doesn’t hear anything catastrophic, but I told her if he hears anything he shouldn’t it’s on her.  They just laughed at me, but it isn’t a joke.” 

Tuesday could see the worry and disappointment behind her anger.  “I know I don’t know Lin very well yet, but I have a feeling she’ll do whatever she can to keep her promise.  Don’t let it ruin your day,” she said.

Asami pulled her wife into a hug, and Tuesday wished she could join them, but they were at the startling line and almost everyone was there.  Instead, she settled for patting her friend on the back.  It wasn’t enough, but it would have to do.

She saw Lin and Tonraq walking their way with Su, and behind her, Auden’s voice rang out.  She came to the realization that she hadn’t seen Pax all morning.  Her gaze fell to the deck of the ship.  She had hoped her rejection the night before wouldn’t make things awkward between them.  She had been nothing but honest with him, but she knew he still held out hope that they could see each other.

Truth be told, it wasn’t hard to imagine herself with Pax.  He seemed like such an amazingly open-minded and caring person.  But her heart was sold on the two women next to her, and that was something she simply could not change, even if she wanted to.

She snapped out of her reverie as Nika called her name, and she joined her team captain.  It was only then she noticed Pax watching her from behind Dane.  When their eyes met, he flashed his dazzling grin at her.

_Oh, Pax.  Guess you’re not mad at me after all._

* * *

 

 

“I’m beginning to think Pax is tripping on purpose,” Asami said to her girls.

They’d gone into town after the race as planned.  The bakery they’d seen the day before had an outside seating area they were currently enjoying, pastries in hand.

“It’s because he couldn’t keep his eyes off of Tuesday,” Korra stated.  Her face showed her emotions, as usual, and Asami nudged her foot under the table.

Pax had ended up running against Tuesday, and considering he had much longer legs than she, Asami thought he would have edged her out for sure.  But just like two days prior, he had tripped, and she managed to pull out in front of him.  Asami’s eyes found Tuesday’s blushing face.

“Or he’s just clumsy,” the airbender said, and the three of them looked at each other and laughed out loud, especially Korra.

Asami reached into her pocket and pulled out Mazzi’s apartment key.  “I’m glad she was all about us going to her place to help her pack.”

Tuesday nodded her head as she licked the glaze from her pastry off of her fingertips, and Asami’s breath caught in her throat at the action.  She was making it hard to think clearly.  “I think it’s a great idea, so long as we leave the personal stuff for her to go through.  We’ll stay out of her office, bedroom and bathroom and stick to the kitchen and living area.  Personally, I hate moving, so I know she’s going to appreciate any help she can get,” the musician shared.

“I just saw some of the employees here placing empty crates out of the back door,” Korra added.  “We can ask for those then we just need to stop for a few newspapers before we head over.”

Asami was brimming with excitement.  She couldn’t believe Mazzi had so readily agreed to come to Republic City with them.  Then again, if the roles were reversed, Asami would have jumped at the opportunity to be near any family.  “She said she would be staying late these next two days, considering they’re her last days at the station.  I wonder how much stuff she has.  Pax said she could put all of her things in cargo, considering it is empty now.”

“What’s the deal with the new factory for Future Industries?” Tuesday inquired.  “Do you have to do anything else before we leave?”

“Tomorrow I meet with Adia.  She worked for Future Industries several years ago before family asked her to come back here to help care for her grandparents.  I was really sad to lose her, so I was really excited when she expressed interest in being head of my Fire Nation branch,” Asami answered.  “Other than that, the staff pretty much has everything taken care of for me.”  She grinned with pride.

“Well I couldn’t eat another bite if I tried,” Korra said, rubbing her belly.  “Let’s go meet Bo and Opal in town square and head to Mazzi’s.”

* * *

 

“Whoa, Asami… your cousin has so many records!” Bo exclaimed as they entered Mazzi’s apartment.

Tuesday was impressed.  Mazzi had quite the music collection.  As soon as she figured out the iPod situation, she was totally giving her one as a gift.

She turned towards Asami to comment but was stopped short as she watched her friend walk up to a picture on the living room wall.  Walking over to join her, she spotted what looked like a young Mazzi with an older woman.

“Incredible,” Asami said, and Korra reached out and consolingly placed her hand on her wife’s back.  “Mazzi’s mom and my dad looked so much alike.  It’s a shame they never knew each other.”

“When the two of you stand next to each other, I can easily see the resemblance,” Opal stated, having joined them next to the photo.

“How about Tuesday, huh?”  Bolin pulled Tuesday into a sideways hug.  “Finding Asami’s cousin!  It’s an awesome feeling finding out you have family when you thought you were all alone.  Have I ever told you the story about how Mako and I happened upon our family when we were in Ba Sing Se looking for airbenders?”

“You didn’t, but Korra and Asami told me all about it,” Tuesday chuckled.  “And now they live in the same apartment building as you and Mako, right?”

“Yes, they do,” Opal answered for her fiancé.  When he wasn’t looking, she rolled her eyes the slightest bit, just enough for Tuesday to see.  “There is always at least one of them coming over for something.”

Bolin caught the irritation in her voice.  “Heeey… you don’t get it because you grew up with a huge family.  It’s a big deal for some of us.”

The hurt in his voice was apparent.  “You’re right.  I’m sorry, Bo.  It’s just frustrating when we’re trying to spend some time alone…”

“Okay!  That’s enough!  You two are like siblings to me so that is not something I want to hear about!” Asami said, covering her ears and walking away from the photograph.  “Grab some boxes and let’s get to work!”

* * *

 

Korra, Asami, and Tuesday’s first stop after returning to the ship later that evening was the conference room.

“So, how did it go?” Korra was the first to ask.

“Well, Lin kept her promise.  I didn’t hear anything I didn’t need to hear,” Tonraq chuckled.  “At one point, one of the men Lin said Tuesday knocked out started ranting and Lin and Su covered my ears.  I imagine it was an interesting albeit comical sight.”

Korra felt relieved, and from the look on Tuesday’s face, she was as well.

“That wasn’t the best part, though,” Suyin stated, a look of triumph on her face.

“What happened?” Korra asked.

Lin’s face wore a smug grin as she answered.  “Well, Tuesday, you successfully located Ghazan’s father, brother, and nephew.  They were three of the men we fought.”

“So it wasn’t his son after all,” Asami said.

“And that makes sense with all the lavabending,” Tuesday confirmed. 

“Right,” Su said.  “Well, when Ghazan’s brother was being sentenced, he got all cocky and said, ‘This isn’t the end of the Red Lotus.  You’ll never find us all!’”

“You should have seen his face when Fire Lord Izumi held up the book!  They didn’t realize it had been found,” Tonraq exclaimed.

“The look of surprise on his face was epic.  We’re hoping this meant that every remaining member was truly listed in there,” Lin added.

“Which means you may have single handedly eradicated the Red Lotus, Tuesday,” Suyin stated.

_Tuesday._

Korra’s emotions were threatening to burst at the seams as she turned to face their new friend.  Asami was already taking the two strides needed to reach her, so she wasted no time joining them in an embrace.  Korra knew her world would have fallen apart if something had happened to her wife, and Tuesday had saved her.  Here she’d gone and saved her, too.

As much as she wanted to stay enveloped in their arms, she extracted herself from Tuesday and Asami.  She turned to her father.  “So were all the trials completed?”

Tonraq shook his head.  “No.  There are about twenty more to go, including Ghazan’s nephew.”

Tuesday spoke up for the first time since their arrival.  “Is he the boy?”

Korra was confused.  “Boy?”

Tuesday’s stormy blue gaze fell on her.  “One of the guys Lin and I fought was barely a man.  He just looked so young.  And there was fear in his eyes.  I don’t think he wanted all of this.  It seemed to me it may have been pushed on him.”  She paused, and her gaze dropped to the floor.  “I could be wrong.  I’m not very good at reading people sometimes,” she glanced first at her, then Asami before looking at Tonraq.  “But what if he never wanted this for himself?  Did it seem like he felt the same as his father and grandfather?”

“Now that you mention it, no,” Suyin answered.  “He was the quietest of them all, the only one out of forty-six members refraining from yelling when everyone else did, and he was noticeably petrified.  What are you thinking, Tuesday?  That he was brainwashed?”

“Maybe not exactly brainwashed, but forced into this.  If his family is all he’s ever had or known, it isn’t hard to feel like there is no other option but to go the same route as everyone else.”

“So what are you saying?” Lin spoke up.  “Are you saying he shouldn’t pay for what he’s done?”

Korra watched her friend’s beautiful eyes grow wide with alarm.  “No!  Of course not!  He most certainly should be punished.  He still had free will and made decisions for himself… but what if he could enter some sort of rehabilitation program through his imprisonment?  I mean, if it seems like it’s worth it.  I just feel like he’s young enough to maybe have another chance at life someday if he proves himself worthy of it.”

Even after all she had been through, Tuesday still searched for the good in people.  The kindness of the woman they’d met just over a week ago never failed to impress Korra.  From the look on Asami’s face, they were thinking the same thing and feeling the same way.

“Maybe he doesn’t deserve it.”  Lin seemed apprehensive.

“Maybe he does,” Su chipped in, her eyes on Tuesday’s face.  “Lin, you know how I feel about second chances.  And this is a very big deal, but perhaps, depending on his demeanor tomorrow during his trial, we will be able to see how he truly feels about what has transpired.”

* * *

 

Asami couldn’t help but notice how quiet Tuesday had been since they left the conference room.  She caught Korra’s eyes and nodded towards their friend they had quickly grown to care for.

She mouthed the word ‘later’ to her, considering Pax was headed their way.

“Good evening, ladies.”  Asami could easily see the man was feeling nervous.  His awkwardness was really nothing short of adorable.  “I was wondering if I could steal Tuesday from you two for just a little while.”

If looks could kill, Korra would be guilty of murder.  Asami elbowed her wife in her side.  “Sure, Pax.  Just have her back to us by ten!” she joked, chuckling in spite of the jealousy she was trying so hard not to feel.

She couldn’t read the look on Tuesday’s face as she left with the one person she feared could affect everything they were hoping for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thought I most post a longer chapter sooner than I normally would... just a little something for someone extra sweet. ; *


	57. The Ticking Time Bomb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LOL  
> You guys are going to HATE me.

“I hope you don’t mind that I pulled you away.  I just wanted to see how you were feeling.  We haven’t really talked since everything happened, and you look like you have a lot on your mind.”

Pax was intuitive, she’d give him that.  There was quite a bit on her mind, and now that she was here with him it didn’t really help matters much.

“Yes, I do, but I’m okay.  So much has happened in the last week… and the last few days especially… sometimes it just catches up to me,” she answered.

“I hope I’m not part of your turmoil.  I meant what I said when I said you always have a friend in me.  As much as I’d like, well, you know how I feel,” he shifted uncomfortably and it still baffled her how such a beautiful man could feel so insecure, “I respect your feelings and just want to know you.  I was actually hoping I could radio you sometimes, you know, once we go our separate ways.”

In spite of the anxiety she’d been feeling since the conference room, Tuesday felt a smile spread across her face.  She really liked Pax, truly she did, and he was obviously a good guy.  She could honestly only have Korra and Asami for the rest of her life and she’d be happy, but knowing someone else enjoyed her company and wanted to be her friend made her feel very special.

“I’d like that, Pax.  And I know I’ve already said it a million times, but I’m sorry I can’t give you what you want.”

He shrugged.  “I’m trying really hard not to take it personally.  Besides, how could I ever compare with two smart, strong, beautiful women like Asami Sato and the Avatar?”

“Oh, Pax, you could land yourself a great woman very easily.  You’re selling yourself short,” she told him, shoving his arm playfully.

“You’re just saying that.”

“Seriously, I mean it.  I wasn’t lying when I told you that if circumstances were different I’d be all yours.  You’re kind and smart too, you know.  And you’re ridiculously beautiful for a man,” Tuesday added. 

Pax laughed out loud.  “I get ‘handsome’, but ‘beautiful’?  Honestly, it’s funny you say that.  That’s the word Dane uses to describe me.”

_Oh!  So Pax and Dane, huh?_

She knew the look of surprise was apparent on her face.  She looked around to make sure they weren’t in any danger of being overheard.  “You and Dane are a thing?”

Pax shook his head.  “Nah.  Just lovers occasionally, aside from being close friends.  We don’t talk about it really because he works for me, and you know, that could be considered a conflict of interest or whatever, but it really isn’t like that.  I don’t play favorites anyway, but here on the ship I don’t even have to because everyone works so well together and completes all their tasks.  I have the dream crew, honestly.  And working for Mrs. Sato… Asami… and Future Industries… I really do love my job.  I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Pax’s clover green eyes were fixed on the horizon, and his jet black hair was swaying in the breeze.  Tuesday felt a tug in her gut.  _Oh Spirits, please don’t confuse me any further than I already am._

“So where is Dane from?  Korra was trying to figure out his nationality… not that it matters or anything.  She was just curious,” Tuesday asked, trying to keep the conversation light.  They were approaching the helm, and she could see Auden on the wheel.  She couldn’t help but notice how close they were to captain’s quarters.

_I could just jump him, have a really good fuck and get all this tension out of my system._

_What?  No!  What are you thinking!  Doing that to him, leading him on like that, how awful!_

_You could tell him the truth; you’re only looking for sex.  I’m sure he’d oblige without hesitation._

_Here I am arguing with myself again.  Way to go, Tuesday._

“His parents are air acolytes at the Eastern Air Temple.  It wasn’t quite the life he wanted for himself.  He wanted to see the world.  His parents are really awesome people though.  They came to visit him and traveled a bit with us when he acquired his airbending.  They were so proud of him before, but when that happened, they felt like it was a gift from the spirits.  He feels the same way.”

Tuesday smiled.  She considered her airbending a gift as well.  It had helped save her friends, and for that, she was eternally grateful.

“Hey Cap!  There’s a message coming through on the radio.  It’s urgent; I think you should take it,” Auden called out.

Pax walked over to his first mate and grabbed the radio.  “This is Pax, Captain of the Waterbender, over.”

“Hello, Pax.  This is Dikali, Captain of the Glacier speaking.  I have an urgent message coming from the Southern Water Tribe.  I need to speak with Chief Tonraq as soon as possible, over.”

Tuesday froze.  _Oh no._

“Is everything all right?  Over.”  Worry etched Pax’s face.

“Everything is stable, from what I understand.  We just need to relay a message as quickly as possible, over,” the staticy voice relayed.

“I’ll go find him,” Tuesday told Pax.  She turned quickly on her heels and took off running.

* * *

 

Tuesday located Tonraq deep in conversation with Lin.  Thankfully, Korra and Asami were nowhere to be found.  She didn’t want her friends to worry if everything was stable like the voice on the radio had said.  _And if the news isn’t good,_ she thought as she swallowed a lump in her throat, _Tonraq will be able to process everything before he speaks to his daughters_.

The two of them turned towards her as she ran up to them.  “Tonraq, Lin, I’m very sorry to interrupt your conversation, but sir, I need you to follow me.”

“Is everything okay, Tuesday?”

“Yes sir… it’s just,” she didn’t want to lie to him but she didn’t want to blab his business and get everyone in a tizzy.  “Pax needs you at the radio.”

His eyes narrowed.  He seemed to understand there was something she wasn’t telling him.  From the look on Lin’s face, she wasn’t fooled, either.  He turned to the chief.  “Excuse me, Lin.  I’ll be back shortly.”

They set off towards the helm.  As soon as they were out of earshot, Tonraq rounded on her.  “Tuesday, please tell me.  Is something wrong?”

“I’m not sure.  There’s an urgent message coming through for you on the radio.  The captain of the Glacier contacted us and is asking for you,” she relayed.

“The Glacier is a ship from the Southern Water Tribe.  If it’s this far north, trying to reach me, well, the message must be serious.”  The older man lengthened his strides, and Tuesday had to take three steps just to keep up with one of his.

Unsure of what to say, she decided just to keep her mouth shut and follow him.

When they arrived, Pax quickly handed him the radio.  He opened his mouth to speak, but Tonraq was already calling into the device.

“Come in, Glacier.  This is Tonraq, over.”

“Chief Tonraq, I’ve been asked to relay a message from your wife, Sir.  Over.”

_Oh no… please don’t let there be anything wrong with Korra’s mother!_

She took Pax’s arm and pulled gently.  He wasn’t steering the ship, so technically they didn’t need to be there, so she felt like they were intruding on a private conversation.  If the news was something they needed to know, she was sure Tonraq would inform them.  He took her hint, and they turned to leave, but just as soon as they pivoted, Korra’s father had pulled her next to him and left his hand resting on her shoulder.

At first she was confused, but then she realized that she was his anchor in this moment.  She stayed put.

“What is the message, Captain?  Is she all right?  Over.”  Tuesday pleaded with the spirits, heartbroken by the worry in Tonraq’s voice.  _Please let Senna be okay…_

“She needs you return home as quickly as possible, Sir.  Over.”

“Is she well?  Over.”

“She is, Sir.  She just stated that it is imperative you return home promptly, over.”

It was obvious Tonraq did not like having such vague news.

“Understood, Captain.  Thank you, over,” he said.

“Of course, Chief.  Glacier signing off, over.”

The buzz on the radio went dead.

The Chief of the Southern Water Tribe had never once looked frail to Tuesday.  He was larger than life in every way, but in that moment, his face was so weary.  He turned to Pax.

“Can I borrow one of your lifeboats, Pax?”

Pax nodded.  “Of course, Sir, but if you’d like, I can make a quick call and have a speedboat here for your within the hour.”

Tonraq nodded.  “Yes, I suppose that would be better.”  He turned towards her.  “Tuesday, I will tell everyone that I’m leaving, but please don’t tell anyone the real reason why, especially Korra.  I don’t want her to worry.  I will find out what’s going on.  This may not even be something she needs to know at all.  I hate to ask you to keep something from her, but in this case, could you do this for me?”

She didn’t like it either, but she understood.

“Yes, sir.  I can.”

* * *

 

“It’s just a little squabble between some of the guys that only I can deal with.  I’ll see you all at the Glacier Spirits Festival in a few months.”

Korra wasn’t buying it.  If there was an issue in the Southern Water Tribe, especially one so small, why would her father need to leave right away?  She turned her eyes to her wife and searched her vivid green orbs to see if she was thinking along the same lines as her.

Asami’s brows were furrowed the slightest bit.  Korra would be talking to her about this shortly.

As well as she knew her father, he knew her as well, and she could sense that he knew she wasn’t fooled.

“I promise everything is okay, Korra.  If it will make you feel better, why don’t you, Asami, and Tuesday come see us in a couple of weeks?” Tonraq offered.

She liked the sound of that.  It would put her mind at ease.  But…

“It might have to be several weeks.  I’m not sure when the venue will be opening, but we’ll make it work,” Korra replied.

“Wonderful!” he boomed.  He swept his two daughters into a crushing hug.  “Make sure you tell Bolin and Suyin’s group goodbye for me.  Make sure you bring everyone for the festival, okay?  Tenzin is excited about having everyone together for it this year.”

Korra smiled at the thought.  No matter how hard they had all tried, there had yet to be a year where all of their extended family could be at the festival together.  This year was going to be the exception.  She knew how much it would mean to Katara.

“We are too, Dad, and we will,” Asami answered. 

“Please be careful.  Radio the ship when you arrive, okay?” Korra asked of him.

“I will, I promise.”

A thought crossed her mind.  “Are you going to say goodbye to Tuesday?”

“She was with Pax and Auden when the call came in, so I already gave her a big hug.  You girls take care of her, okay?  I have no doubt she’ll continue to take care of the both of you.”  The smile her father gave them was warm and comforting.  _Thank the spirits my parents are so open and amazing._

“We will, Dad.  I love you.”

“Love you, Dad,” Asami added.

Tonraq vanished over the side of the boat, and Korra could hear his boots hitting the floor of the speedboat Pax had called for him.  Without another word, and with only a wave, he disappeared over the dark horizon, headed south.

* * *

 

“I’m sure everything is okay, Korra.  I think if it was a really big deal, he would have told you.”

Asami had been trying to calm and comfort her wife for the last ten minutes, ever since Tonraq’s boat had taken off.  It was obvious he hadn’t told them everything, but she knew if it had been anything really serious, he wouldn’t have kept it from them.  He knew how strong his daughter was and knew she would have helped him in any circumstance.  But there was a little voice inside her mind telling her that there were some things Korra couldn’t help with… like if something was wrong with her mother.

There was no way she was voicing that thought.  If something was wrong with Senna, Tonraq would have them there without hesitation.  At this point, it was just a waiting game.

“I could tell he was lying to me,” Korra paced the length of their room.  “But I know you’re right.  Either way, I can’t help but worry.”

Asami stood and began to undress.  Korra halted in her tracks.

It was her intention to distract Korra, even though it was sort of mean because of her ‘not in other people’s beds’ rule, but maybe just feeling her up a little and making out would help ease her tension… or it might make it worse.  Honestly, Asami couldn’t wait until they got home because she was more than ready to pounce on her wife.  It had been too long since they had made love.

Korra’s ocean blue eyes had darkened and were watching her every move.  Asami’s core began to tremble as she heard the breath being sucked in through her teeth.  Her lover rushed to her, and she immediately felt teeth nibbling her neck as strong, warm hands caressed her gently but passionately.

Spirits… it was so easy for Korra to send her into a frenzy.

She tenderly grabbed her wife’s chin and angled it up so their lips could meet.  Instead of kissing her the way she wanted to, which would have been cruel for the both of them, she decided to kiss her sweetly, slowly, and softly.  She wrapped her arms around the shorter woman’s shoulders and pulled her close.

“I don’t want to get us too wound up,” she whispered to her wife as she embraced her.

“I hate your stupid rule.”

Asami chuckled.  “I know.  I’m weird.  But hey… we’ve got something to look forward to.”

Korra brought her gaze up to meet her own, and her knees turned to putty.  “I have something to look forward to every day because I have you.”

Her chest clinched.  She pulled her back into a tight hug.  “Oh, Baby.  I feel the same way.”  She pulled away just enough to hold her at arm’s length.  “How about we get into our pajamas?”

Deep down, something else was on her mind.  She was hoping so strongly that Tuesday would come to them, and if she was being completely honest with herself, she wanted to go look for her and bring her back.  She just wanted her here with them.  She knew that she was not the only one who had a way with Korra, and Tuesday being here would help her feel better, but she didn’t want to say anything out loud and worry her wife even more.

“I was going to wait because, well, I was thinking about going to look for Tuesday.”

Well, so much for that.  She wasn’t the only one with their friend on the brain.  But at that very moment, a quiet knock sounded on their door, and she knew it was Tuesday.  Happiness and relief flooded her veins, and from the look on Korra’s face, her wife’s emotions were matching her own.

Asami scrambled to toss on whatever was closest to her as Korra went to the door.  It wasn’t until the door was being opened that she realized what she was wearing.  Tuesday stepped into the room, saw her, and blushed.

She was wearing one of Tuesday’s Berklee t-shirts.

She began to stammer as her wife looked on with her signature lopsided grin and pink touching her cheeks as well.  There was no doubt in her mind she was red; she could feel the heat radiating off her face.  At least she wasn’t alone.

“I’m sorry.  I was changing when you knocked and grabbed the closest thing to me…”

Tuesday giggled, and Asami’s heart fluttered.  “Asami, it’s okay.  I… uh… it looks adorable on you.  You can wear it,” she paused as her eyes widened and she turned to face Korra, “that is, if it’s okay with you.”

Korra wrapped Tuesday up in her arms.  Her answer was muffled by the airbender’s long, flowing curls.  “It’s totally okay with me.  I’m just so glad you’re here.”

Asami could see Tuesday’s grin from across the room, and the softness in her expression made her heart burst with so much feeling.  She took the necessary steps to reach her girls before adding herself to the embrace.

“There’s no place I’d rather be than here with you two.”

Asami’s heart skipped a beat.  _Does that mean what I want it to mean?_

Korra pulled back and searched Tuesday’s face.  “What about Pax?”

A hundred different emotions seemed to play out across the musician’s face before she answered, and in doing so, she seemed to be choosing her words carefully.  It made her wonder what all the other thoughts were that passed through that brilliant mind.

“Pax is my friend, and I enjoy his company.  But you know how dear the two of you are to me.  I love our cuddles, and it’s your night in the middle!”  Tuesday gave them a smile before adding, “and look, Asami… we match!”

Tuesday had already been to her room and changed.  She, too, was in a Berklee T-shirt, but it was white with red lettering while the one she had tossed on was red with white lettering.  Tuesday had put on her usual skin tight pajama shorts that she loved to look at so very much, and she, well, she was standing there in just the t-shirt and undies.

Their friend airily skipped away from them and hopped into their bed and backed herself against the wall.  “There will be no argument tonight, so come on, Korra.”  Asami laughed jubilantly at Tuesday’s playfulness.

Korra grinned broadly at the two of them before turning her back to change.  Asami sat down on the edge of the bed.  “How was your time with Pax?”  She wanted to know, but she didn’t want to know.

Tuesday’s eyes lit up.  “I totally want to give you the good gossip, but I don’t want to get him in trouble.”

_Oh boy.  What could this guy be doing to get himself into trouble?_

Her desire to know won out.

“I have a feeling it isn’t something I’d need to fire him for.  He doesn’t seem like that sort of guy,” she said.  “So give me the juicy stuff.”

The guitarist flopped onto her belly towards her and rested her chin on her hands.  “Oh no, he adores working for Future Industries, so it’s nothing like that.  But get this… you guys remember Dane?  The really fast, quiet crewman with the dreadlocks?  He and Pax have a little thing going on!”

Her chin dropped to the floor as Korra asked, “Pax is bisexual?”

Tuesday nodded her head.  “Yup, just like us.  And they’re not together or anything serious like that but I imagine it gets lonely out at sea for weeks at a time, so they formed a companionship.  I think it’s adorable.”  She grinned and blushed and she was just so absolutely beautiful Asami could barely stand it.

Her wife finished changing and approached the bed, so Tuesday adjusted herself so her backside was once again up against the wall and Korra took no time settling against her.  Tuesday wrapped her arm around the waterbender and pulled her close.  Looking at the two of them, lying together comfortably like pieces of a puzzle, there was no doubt in her mind that this was what she wanted.

She added herself to the mix and turned out the light.  All of a sudden, she felt a shifting on the bed.  Next thing she knew, she felt soft, warm lips kissing her forehead.  It took her a second to register what was going on before she heard the motion being repeated against Korra’s forehead.

Tuesday had kissed them… and in such a sweet spot, in such a tender way.

She reached over and pulled the two of them closer to her.  She felt their arms and legs entwine and it felt like home.

“This time tomorrow, we’ll be going to bed on this ship for the last time.  And Mazzi will be with us, and we’ll be home so soon,” she stated.

“I can’t wait,” Tuesday seconded.  “Korra?  Are you okay?  You’ve been so quiet tonight.”

Tuesday had picked up on her wife’s mood.

“I’m worried about Dad.  I know he wasn’t telling me everything.  He said you were with Pax when the call came in.  Did you hear anything?”

There was a moment’s pause before she answered.  “I’m sorry Korra, I don’t know what’s going on, but I think that if it were something to worry about he would have let us come with him.”

She felt her wife nod against her.  “Asami said the same thing.  I think you two are right.  I hope you’re right.”  She exhaled.

Asami spoke up.  “Don’t worry, my love.  Let’s snuggle ourselves to sleep.”

“Sounds good to me,” Korra whispered.

“And me,” Tuesday added softly.

The three of them were out within seconds.

* * *

 

Two men were chasing Korra. 

One was bending a metallic fluid towards her, and the other was the older lavabender she had knocked out in the cavern.

Tuesday was chasing them as fast as she could.  She wasn’t going to let them put that poison in her again.  She blew gust after gust of air at them, trying to sweep their legs out from under them, anything that would make them stop or turn on her and leave the Avatar alone.  But nothing was working.

“Korra!  Keep running!  Don’t stop!”  Her voice sounded muted in her ears.

They had almost reached her, and she could see the mercury settling on the Avatar’s arms and legs.

“No!  Korra!”  There must have been people chasing her too, because she could feel their hands grasping at her.

“Tuesday… shhh.  Tuesday, it’s okay.  I’m right here.  We’ve got you.”

She could hear Korra, but couldn’t see her.  It took her a second to realize she’d been having a nightmare. She opened her eyes to find Korra leaning over her from one side and Asami from the other.

The engineer’s warm hand on her face helped snap her back into reality.  It was only a dream.  Korra was here, and all three of them were safe.  She placed her hand on top of Asami’s and curled her fingers around it.

She burst into tears.

Reaching up with her other arm, she pulled Korra to her and sobbed into her short, soft, locks.  “Oh Korra.  I’m so sorry.”

Korra pulled her face away just enough to look at her with sympathetic ocean blue eyes.  “Why are you apologizing, sweetheart?  You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“I was… trying to save you, but I couldn’t.”  More sobs rattled her chest.

She felt Asami shimmy in between her and the wall and wrap her arms around her.  She felt the terror loosen its hold on her as the engineer pulled her as close to her as she possibly could.

Her chest clinched in more ways than one when Korra gently wiped her tears away.  “Tuesday… I don’t know for sure what you found, and I don’t want to know.  But I know you did save me by finding and exposing what you found.   I’m right here with the two of you now.  What you’ve done for Asami and I… we will never be able to repay you.  But we’re here, and we’re safe, and none of us are going to let anything or anyone change that, all right?”

_The look in her eyes…_

All she could do was nod.

Out of nowhere there was a knock on the door.  Lin’s voice sounded on the other side.

“Girls, are you okay?”

Tuesday watched as her two loves met each other’s gaze.  Something was spoken silently between them.

“You can open the door, Lin.”

Tuesday’s eyes widened.  _What will Lin think when she sees me here in bed with them?_

That’s when she realized they were telling each other they didn’t care what she thought.

_Oh._

Lin opened the door and eased into the room.  Kya followed quietly behind her.  Tuesday could see them processing what they were seeing.  They shut the door very quickly behind them.

“Is everything okay?” Lin asked softly as Kya sat at the foot of the bed.

Tuesday cleared her throat.  She didn’t want to seem weak in front of Lin and Kya.  “It was me… I was yelling.  I’m sorry for waking you up.  I just had a nightmare.”

Kya reached out and patted her leg.  “Don’t feel bad, Tuesday.  With everything you’ve been through it’s to be expected.”

She almost told them that Korra and Asami usually kept her nightmares away, but she stopped herself before she said too much.  It was one thing for them to see her in bed with the couple this one time; she shouldn’t inform them it had happened almost every night since she met them.

“Yeah, but I still feel bad for waking you.”

“It’s okay, Kid,” Lin said softly.  For a hard cop, the chief apparently had a very soft side.

“I wish you guys could heal this part of me,” she admitted.  Asami squeezed her gently.

Kya’s gaze fell to the floor.  “Bad memories are one thing we can’t heal.  I can heal a head but not what thoughts pass through it.”

Korra spoke up.  “Our memories make us who we are Tuesday, even the bad ones.  Even pain is wisdom.”

“You’ve come such a long way from that hot-headed seventeen year old, Avatar.”

Korra gave Lin a small, sweet smile.

“Well, come on, Chief.  Let’s let these girls go back to bed,” Kya said as she stood up slowly.  “We’ll see you three in the morning.”

“Good night Lin, good night, Kya,” Asami said from behind her.

“Thanks for checking in, you two.  Good night,” Korra said to their older friends.

“Good night,” she added.

They both nodded and smiled before closing the door.  Korra turned to face her.

“You okay with me turning off the light?  We can stay up awhile, if you’d like.”

“No, turn out the light.  I think I’m going to be all right.”  _As long as the two of you are here with me, I’m going to be just fine._

Korra turned off the light and turned to face her.  She wrapped her arms around her and Asami and snuggled as closely as she could.  Tuesday nestled her head on Korra’s warm shoulder.  She felt the Avatar kiss the top of her head, and it warmed her through to her core.  With their arms around her, the fears she had upon waking were forgotten, and she closed her eyes and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

 

Korra awoke the next morning to find herself back in the middle.

When Tuesday had experienced her nightmare last night, Asami put herself between Tuesday and the wall so they could hold her between them.  Perhaps at some point in the night, their friend had gotten up to use the restroom and scooted Korra back into the center when she returned.

She wasn’t complaining.  On the contrary, she was quite pleased.  She enjoyed their sleeping arrangement in any sequence, but being in between the two of them made her feel… well… something like an explosive, but only in the best of ways.

Asami’s arm was draped over her side while her long, nimble fingers lightly touched the pale, tattooed skin of Tuesday’s back that was just peeking out from under her t-shirt.  The airbender’s head was resting on Korra’s shoulder, and she smiled at the vision of errant curls swirling across her arm.

She used the arm Tuesday was laying on to gently pull her closer. 

_Thank goodness Asami wants this too, because I’m really getting used to it._

A whisper left Tuesday’s full, pink lips.  It was her name.  Just her name.

“Korra…”

She melted like a snowflake in the sun.  She felt Asami stir behind her.

“I’m right here, sweetheart.  Are you okay?” she whispered back.

Tuesday didn’t answer.  Korra gently tucked the curls that hid their friend’s beautiful face behind her ear.  She was still asleep, which meant she had to be dreaming... 

Asami spoke groggily yet softly from behind her.  “Is she all right?”

Korra turned her head the slightest bit towards her wife.  “She’s still sleeping, but she doesn’t seem to be having a nightmare.”

“Asami…”

Her wife leaned up behind her, eyebrows raised and obviously intrigued.  Korra’s head turned as Tuesday shifted to where she was laying on her back.  It only took her a nanosecond to notice the firm peaks stiffening beneath the musician’s t-shirt.  A gasp from behind her told her that her wife had not failed to notice the same thing.

That was when the quickened breathing began.

Tuesday was dreaming, all right, but Korra was quickly figuring out that it wasn’t a nightmare.

Her chest began to rise and fall with a bit of intensity.  Her skin flushed.  The worn tips of her skilled fingers began to twitch, but Korra had a feeling she wasn’t thinking about playing instruments.  Her hips began to move in the most provocative of ways.

Korra was frozen in place.  Her mouth watered.  The breath rushed out of her lungs.  Tuesday had said their names… did that mean she was dreaming about them… together?

_Spirits, I hope so.  That would mean…_

“Mmm…” Tuesday purred.  Her lips parted as an exhale erotically escaped from them.

Lust rushed in her ears.  She whipped her head around to look at her wife to find her wanton eyes and flushed face very close to hers.

“Babe?” Korra whispered.

A hum came from deep within her wife’s chest.  Asami’s cheeks were as red as the t-shirt she was wearing, her breathing had become erratic, and her hips seemed to be involuntarily pushing into her backside.  Her wife reached out her hand and grasped her hip.  “Holding on to you is my only will power right now,” Asami gasped.

“What about your rule…?”

“Fuck the rule.”

Korra was in overload.  Tuesday’s cheeks were tinged pink.  Her lips were so close.  All she had to do was lean over and she could kiss them, and Spirits, did she want to.

She closed her eyes and shook her head.  Every molecule in her body seemed to be pounding.  Every point of contact between her, her wife, and the musician felt like soft flames dancing across her body.  She turned to her wife but could barely stand to look at her as well. 

“Asami, we should wake her up, or we have to get up, or something.  I can’t… I can’t handle this.  I’m three seconds from attacking the both of you and we can’t do this here on the ship, not now.”  She almost sounded like a stranger to herself; her voice had deepened and become ragged in her fit of desire.

Korra shifted her hips and felt the dampness that had pooled between her legs.

_Fuck._

She slammed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.  She shook her head.

“Tuesday, sweetheart, wake up.”  Her voice rattled with need.

“Mmm.  Korra…”  Tuesday sucked a breath in through her teeth.  “Asami…”

Her wife tightened the grip she held on her hip and softly moaned.

_Sweet Spirits._

“Tuesday, you have to wake up.”  She chided herself at her urgent tone.

The airbender’s eyes flew open.  Another exhale pushed past her pouting lips.  Her eyes turned towards her, and the usually blue-grey eyes had darkened and turned into pools of storm clouds.

Korra’s breath hitched in her throat.  She slammed her lips together and attempted to swallow.

“Did I wake you?” the beauty sighed.

“No, uh, no,” Asami’s hand still clenched her hip, and she silently prayed to the spirits to help her keep control of the situation.  “But, um, we have to get up and start our day.”

Tuesday turned towards her and burrowed against her.  Korra clenched her jaw.

“Aww… but I’m so comfy… and I was having the best dream.”  Sensuality oozed around her words.

Korra’s eyes flew open and a smile graced her face.  She turned her head the slightest bit to meet an electric green gaze.  Her wife’s matching grin and mischievous look confirmed her current thought: they were finally sure of how Tuesday felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will probably be it for a little while. The next several chapters need some revisions.  
> Hang tight. Our girls will be back shortly!


End file.
